Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestylePope Leo XIV has issued a landmark apology for the Holy See's direct involvement in legitimising slavery and its centuries-long failure to condemn the practice, describing the Vatican’s historical record as a 'wound in Christian memory'. This marks the first time a Pope has publicly acknowledged and apologised for the explicit authority granted by past popes to European sovereigns to subjugate and enslave 'infidels', responding to decades of calls from Black American Catholics and activists. The apology was delivered by the first US-born Pope, whose own family history encompasses both enslaved individuals and slave owners, and was featured in his inaugural encyclical, 'Magnifica Humanitas', released on Monday. The encyclical primarily addresses safeguarding humanity amidst growing reliance on artificial intelligence, with Pope Leo drawing a parallel between the historical trans-Atlantic slave trade and new forms of slavery and colonialism exacerbated by the digital revolution, such as unregulated labour for AI chip production. The Vatican had previously repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery in 2023, which was based on 15th-century papal bulls like 'Dum Diversas' and 'Romanus Pontifex' that authorised the enslavement of non-Christians, though the bulls themselves were never formally rescinded. In fullPope Leo issues historic apology for Vatican’s own role in legitimising slaveryThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Pope Leo delivered a landmark apology over the slave trade. Here’s why
Stay up to date with notifications from The IndependentNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.Jump to contentThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inAllNewsSportCultureLifestylePope Leo XIV has issued a landmark apology for the Holy See's direct involvement in legitimising slavery and its centuries-long failure to condemn the practice, describing the Vatican’s historical record as a 'wound in Christian memory'. This marks the first time a Pope has publicly acknowledged and apologised for the explicit authority granted by past popes to European sovereigns to subjugate and enslave 'infidels', responding to decades of calls from Black American Catholics and activists. The apology was delivered by the first US-born Pope, whose own family history encompasses both enslaved individuals and slave owners, and was featured in his inaugural encyclical, 'Magnifica Humanitas', released on Monday. The encyclical primarily addresses safeguarding humanity amidst growing reliance on artificial intelligence, with Pope Leo drawing a parallel between the historical trans-Atlantic slave trade and new forms of slavery and colonialism exacerbated by the digital revolution, such as unregulated labour for AI chip production. The Vatican had previously repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery in 2023, which was based on 15th-century papal bulls like 'Dum Diversas' and 'Romanus Pontifex' that authorised the enslavement of non-Christians, though the bulls themselves were never formally rescinded. In fullPope Leo issues historic apology for Vatican’s own role in legitimising slaveryThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
