The Doctrine of Discovery asserted that Christian nations had a divine right to claim absolute title to and authority over any newly discovered non-Christian inhabitants and their lands. This included the indigenous people of Maryland and is clearly stated in the original charter of 1632 which says that “Lord Baltimore may establish a colony in a region of the country hitherto uncultivated and partly occupied by savages, having no knowledge of the Divine Being.” Pope Francis issued a statement on March 30, 2023, saying that “the Catholic Church repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political Doctrine of Discovery.” He went on to say that the Church acknowledged the terrible effects the policy had on the indigenous peoples all over the world.