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Papal bulls may be burning in St. Peters Square this year depending on audience with the Pope.

As announced at the 1999 "Papal Bulls Burning" in Honolulu, Hawai'i, Indigenous Peoples and supporters will be in Rome in October to take the Vatican up on their amends during this year's millennium "Jubilee." A delegation consisting of 10 to 15 Human and Indigenous rights activists from the Americas and Pacific region have requested a private audience with Pope John Paul II tentatively scheduled for October 11. The delegation is also arranging other meetings with Vatican officials, and scheduling panel presentations in Rome, Milan and Torino.

The delegation seeks the revocation of the 1493 Papal Bull "Inter Caetera." This edict was issued by Pope Alexander VI to the king and queen of Spain, and it 'officially' established Christian dominion. The "Bull" called for the subjugation of non-Christians peoples ("barbarous nations") and their lands. "Inter Caetera" granted unlimited rights to Spain, and the subsequent 1494 "Treaty of Tordesillas" divided the world in half between Spain and Portugal. Consequently, tens of millions of natives peoples perished as a result of these actions.

This papal edict has never been revoked and has since become the cornerstone of the colonial policies used against indigenous nations and peoples. This 'legalized' perpetuation of centuries old violations against the basic human rights of Indigenous Peoples is unacceptable to an increasing number of native and non-native peoples alike. As the Roman Catholic church now seeks forgiveness and atonement for the sins of the sons and daughters of the Church, and wants to enter the new millennium with a "clear conscience", the delegation travels to Rome to help resolve the longest running conflict in the Americas.

The activists feel that the revocation of "Inter Caetera Bull" will announce to the world community that the Vatican no longer supports the principle of subjugation that it promulgated five centuries ago. Indigenous Peoples worldwide also see the revocation as an extremely important spiritual and symbolic gesture of peace and healing, necessary to create a "culture of peace on earth". The delegation will call for the revocation of "Inter Caetera" by the beginning of the third millennium, or by the end of the Year 2000.