Members of the Assembly of First Nations urged Pope Francis on Thursday to revoke centuries-old papal decrees used to justify the seizure of Indigenous land in the Americas by colonial powers.

Members of the Assembly of First Nations urged Pope Francis on Thursday to revoke centuries-old papal decrees used to justify the seizure of Indigenous land in the Americas by colonial powers.

Two papal bulls issued in 1455 and and 1493 gave the church's blessing to explorers' claims to Africa and the Americas.

The Doctrine of Discovery is based largely on those papal bulls, issued by Pope Nicholas V and Pope Alexander VI.

The AFN delegation — the last Indigenous group from Canada to meet privately with the Pope this week before a final public audience today — is calling on the Vatican to scrap the doctrine.

The move would fulfil the Roman Catholic Church's role in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's call to action 49, which urges all religious and faith groups to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and people.