NEWS: Pope Leo Apologizes for Slavery in His First Encyclical - Magnifica Humanitas

Pope Leo XIV in 2025
(Edgar Beltrán, The Pillar, Pope Leo XIV 2 (4x5 cropped), CC BY-SA 4.0)

In his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo has explicitly apologized for the role the papacy has played in legitimizing slavery. Though the encyclical deals mostly with moral challenges related to AI, and how it threatens to augment forms of domination akin to slavery, it also admits to the Church's history of moral failures regarding slavery. The most explicit articulation of this admission and apology comes in section 167 and deserves to be quoted in full:

176. In the development of her doctrine, the Church has gradually come to a deeper awareness of the gravity of these issues. It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. In antiquity and the Middle Ages many individuals and even ecclesiastical institutions had slaves. Already in the early modern period, the Apostolic See of Rome, responding to requests from Sovereigns, intervened several times in order to regulate and legitimize forms of subjugation, and, in certain cases, the enslavement of “infidels.” [174] It was only in the nineteenth century that a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated, notably under Pope Leo XIII. [175] This development offers a clear example of the Church’s growth in understanding the perennial truths of Revelation that she safeguards. Although there was not always consistency in practice — given that slavery was long tolerated before being unequivocally condemned — there has been a continuous affirmation throughout history of the dignity of every human being, created in the image of God, even if it took eighteen centuries for its full incompatibility with slavery to be explicitly recognized. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached. [176] It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord. For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon...

 The notes to this section of the encyclical appear below:

Note 174: As in the Papal Bulls Sicut Dudum (13 January 1435) and Etsi Suscepti (9 January 1442) of Eugenius IV, and in the Papal Bulls Dum Diversas (18 June 1452) and Romanus Pontifex (8 January 1455) of Nicholas V. Political and, at times, even economic needs overcame the demands of the Gospel. The need for evangelization was frequently compromised or at least misunderstood with regard to the needs of worldly powers, thus relativizing the problematic incompatibility of slavery with the Christian conscience.

Note 175: Cf. Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter In Plurimis (5 May 1888), Acta Leonis XIII, VIII, Rome, 1889, 169-192. Consider that, as late as 1866, the Holy Office distinguished between the immoral and moral aspects of slavery, without fully condemning it: Instruction of the Holy Office on various doubts of Monsignor Massaia, Vicar Apostolic in the country of the Galla, April 1866, response to question no. 15.

Note 176: Cf. Saint John Paul II, Bull Incarnationis Mysterium (29 November 1998), 11: AAS 91 (1999), 139-141.

Much reporting, including within Catholic circles, has praised the encyclical and the apology for the hitherto unprecedented degree of admission of responsibility from the papacy for its own role in slavery. Many church leaders, including in the Episcopal Church, could stand to learn from the truthful, unvarnished, non-euphemistic language in the admission.

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.
Reparations Commission Research Historian
Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey

Juneteenth is Coming Up. What is Juneteenth? How Can We Honor it?

Image courtesy St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, Elizabeth

What is Juneteenth?[1] Juneteenth, also known as “Emancipation Day” or “Freedom Day,” holds tremendous significance in American history. On June 19, 1865, enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas were finally informed of their freedom, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been issued, having been shielded from this knowledge until late in the Civil War. But from the day of the coming of that good news, the occasion of its announcement was celebrated, first by local Black churches in Texas, and then, as time went on, throughout the nation, until Juneteenth was formally recognized as a federal holiday in 2021.

Slavery in all the states would not end (except as a punishment for a crime) until the 13th Amendment of the Constitution was ratified on December 6, 1865. New Jersey itself refused to pass the 13th amendment when it was first proposed, and was the last northern state to ratify it. Moreover, the ideals of this nation –particularly as described in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution– have never been fully realized for many.

Observance of Juneteenth invites all Americans to acknowledge and tell the truth about our history, a history which is too often “white-washed,” sanitized and mythologized. Juneteenth not only honors the resilience and triumph of African Americans in their pursuit of freedom, but should stir us all to work diligently for an America that fulfills its highest ideals, not just for some, but for all its people.

How can we honor Juneteenth? The occasion of Juneteenth invites reflection and remembrance of the countless lives impacted by the institution of slavery and the ongoing injustices of racism. By acknowledging this painful history we honor the memory of those harmed, we seek deeper understanding, we commit to preventing the recurrence of the evils of the past, we commit to mending the evils of the present, and we seek a more just, inclusive, and equitable future. This observance necessarily involves recognizing the historical injustices committed against Black communities, and seeking their healing through the repair of those injustices (reparation).

We welcome everyone in the Diocese of New Jersey to participate in Juneteenth events and to embed Juneteenth observance, reflection, and repair into your liturgical observance. Such observances help us as faithful Christians and Episcopalians to “seek and serve Christ in all persons loving our neighbor as ourselves,” to “strive for justice and peace among all people,” and to “respect the dignity of every human being.” In public prayers center both those who waited so long for a word of freedom, and those who still wait for justice delayed.

[1] Text is drawn from W. Stokes, “Juneteenth Observances,” (June 2023), and W. Stokes “Celebrating Juneteenth: Honoring Freedom and Commemorating History,” (June 2023), edited by Jolyon Pruszinski. 

EVENT: Diocese of New Jersey Reparations Commission Slavery History Pilgrimage: Two Upcoming Opportunities (June 6 or July 18)

 

The Diocese of New Jersey Reparations Commission will offer its slavery history pilgrimage on two dates in the coming months: June 6 and July 18. The pilgrimage starts and ends in Perth Amboy and follows a liturgy of reflection and repentance through a circuit of sites of memory related to Anglican and Episcopal involvement in slavery. We will meet at 11am at the Perth Amboy Ferry Slip UNESCO slave trade marker to begin the pilgrimage. Email Rev. Beth Rauen Sciaino (priest@stbernardsnj.org) or Dr. Jolyon Pruszinski (jolyonp@princeton.edu) to let us know you'll be participating or if you have any questions. The full pilgrimage guide is available ONLINE and you can follow it yourself at any time.

NEWS: U.N. Adopts Resolution A/80/L.48 Declaring the "Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime against Humanity"

On March 25, 2026, the International Day of "Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade," the United Nations voted to adopt Resolution A/80/L.48 entitled "United Nations Declaration of the Trafficking of Enslaved Africans and Racialized Chattel Enslavement of Africans as the Gravest Crime against Humanity (UNDOTEA)." As extensive reporting has described, the resolution was sponsored by a group of fifty-four African nations and was passed by a vote of 123 to 3 with 52 abstentions (and a few nations not voting at all). The three nations voting to reject the resolution outright were the United States, Argentina, and Israel. Most European nations abstained. As articulated by the Department of Global Health Justice at UW, this essentially amounts to a rejection of the resolution by the Global North. The resolution was non-binding, called for apology, return of stolen property, and the consideration of reparations. Justifications for rejection of the resolution relied largely on the contention that the hierarchy of wrongs implied by the document was inappropriate and exaggerated, that the actions taken in the past that the resolution addressed were legal at the time, and that it was inappropriate to apply the standards of today to previous eras. It does not appear accidental that the colonizing nations that most benefitted financially from the Transatlantic slave trade did not support the measure. For more information and links to relevant sources see the U.N. Media page, the statement from African Union, and Wikipedia.

Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski, Ph.D.
Reparations Commission Research Historian
Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey