Pope Leo XIV, the American whose ancestors included the enslaved and enslavers, has apologized for the Catholic Church’s role in granting European countries religious permission to force Africans into bondage. Better late than never.

The pope offered the apology in his first encyclical. When it comes to slavery, the Vatican has had much to apologize for and for a long time.

In 1452, Pope Nicholas V gave Portuguese royals the right to colonize “infidels” and take them into “perpetual slavery”— anywhere in the world. Before seeking papal permission, the Portuguese had already taken African captives back to their country. With the pope’s blessing, they initiated the transatlantic slave trade in 1526.

In the 1400s and 1500s, three later popes confirmed or renewed the permission to enslave Africans, which was extended to the Spanish king in the Americas.

Leo noted in his encyclical issued May 25 that “the Apostolic See of Rome, responding to the requests of sovereigns, intervened several times in order to regulate and legitimize forms of subjugation, and, in certain cases, including the enslavement of ‘infidels.’”

Beyond that, Catholic institutions and religious orders, including the Jesuits, held African slaves on plantation in the Americas. The best-known example is Jesuit-run Georgetown, which has taken some steps to make amends.

Worldwide, the Catholic Church, which says it believes in the dignity of every human being, is a wealthy institution. This pope needs to say and do more to make up for centuries of dehumanizing enslaved Africans and their descendants.

Pope Leo XIV hit one off-key note in his apology. He said the church giving sanction to slavery was a “wound in Christian memory.” What about the wounds to African captives and their descendants—to this day? The pope should have consulted his African, African American and Afro-Brazilian bishops.

Ronald Mitchell
Editor and Publisher, Bay State Banner