Pope voices willingness to return Indigenous loot, artifacts

Pope Francis says talks are underway to return artifacts in the Vatican Museum that were acquired from Indigenous peoples in Canada and has voiced a willingness to return other colonial-era objects in the Vatican’s collection on a case-by-case basis. He quoted the Seventh Commandment: “If you steal something, you have to give it back.” The pope recently returned to Greece three fragments of the Parthenon sculptures. The Vatican has an extensive collection of artifacts and art made by Indigenous peoples from around the world, much of it sent to Rome by Catholic missionaries for a 1925 exhibition.