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

Foreword by Elaine Pagels to "Anglican Slavery in New Jersey"

Jolyon Pruszinski and Elaine Pagels at Princeton University, May 16, 2024 (Photo by Molly Schneider)

 Those of us who are White Christians like to think that we stand for justice, for human equality, compassion, and kindness; certainly we oppose slavery and racism. That is why we owe a great debt to Jolyon Pruszinski for offering us this initial investigation of the history of slavery in the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey.

    At the start, he acknowledges his own previous ignorance of this history, an ignorance shared by most of us who have not personally been targets of racism. Those who grew up in public schools like mine, in the California town of Palo Alto, learned in history class that long ago in the past, Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves; now we could proudly endorse the “liberty and justice for all” that our Pledge of Allegiance celebrates. Never mentioned in our history class, however, was what preceded that event: two hundred and fifty years of horrific human trafficking in chattel slavery that helped build and enrich the towns and institutions familiar to us, most of them entirely dominated by White people like ourselves. The history we learned gave only a passing mention to the political struggle to maintain slavery and the horrors of the Civil War. Instead, at the time, our complacency seemed natural—almost our birthright. There was also East Palo Alto, where Cornel West, who later would become my colleague at Princeton, grew up, but I knew little of that, since most Black students were funneled into other school districts.

    But since the 1960s and 1970s, when intense conflict over issues of race increasingly broke into the open, some educators have brought much more of that hidden history to light, while others, to this day, are fighting hard to suppress it. Only more recently have Christians of many denominations begun to acknowledge, much less to reckon with, their part in this tangled and contested history.

    So I deeply appreciate the great service Jolyon Pruszinski has done for members of the Episcopal Church in New Jersey, and especially to members of Trinity Church, Princeton. In this current report, he shows the results of having investigated how, and in what ways, members of the Episcopal Church in New Jersey have engaged slavery and racism, from the first founding of Anglican churches in colonial times to the outbreak of the Civil War. His work is also ongoing, as he now intends to document what has happened from that time to the present.

    The report now before us, more than a history, comes as a manifesto. Pruszinski challenges us to stop avoiding painful truths, and to find freedom instead in acknowledging them, recognizing that the Episcopal churches in which we participate have reaped enormous benefits in wealth and influence from centuries of practicing slavery, segregation, and racism, often armed with scriptural justification. The facts he documents here challenge us not only to recognize what happened, but also to begin the process of repairing the harm in every way we can.

    Pruszinski ends with a call for each one of us to rediscover one another, echoing the prophet Micah’s call to “do justice; love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”—and with your neighbor, and mine.

Elaine Pagels
Professor of History of Religion, Princeton University

(From the Foreword (pp. xi-xii) to Anglican Slavery in New Jersey: An Initial Accounting (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2025), by Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski.)

VIDEO: REPARATIONS: A STATUS REPORT - FRONTIERS INT. PANEL APRIL 25, 2026

The Plainfield, New Jersey chapter of Frontiers International, one of the oldest Black service organizations in the United States, recently hosted a panel discussion on the state of reparations in New Jersey. The panel featured Dr. Jean-Pierre Brutus of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and New Jersey Reparations Council, the renowned organizer Lawrence Hamm, sociologist and congressional candidate Dr. Akil Khalfani, and Diocese of New Jersey Reparations Commission historian Dr. Jolyon Pruszinski. Frontiers has posted the video recording of the panel on their Youtube channel. Many thanks for the invite!

VIDEO: DIOCESE OF NEW JERSEY RESEARCH AT AHA WITH HSEC

The most recent newsletter from the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church (HSEC), The Clearinghouse, highlights research from the Diocese of New Jersey, with video! As part of a panel on reparations research and initiatives in the Episcopal Church organized by HSEC, the Diocesan Reparations Commission historian, Dr. Jolyon Pruszinski, presented on his recent research and the reparations initiatives in the Diocese of New Jersey at the American Historical Association (AHA) national conference in Chicago on January 10, 2026. The HSEC writes: "Watch a timely and important panel discussion, Anglican Slavery in New Jersey: Reparations Work in the Diocese of New Jersey and the Episcopal Church, available on the Historical Society’s YouTube Channel. Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Historical Association in January 2026, this session brings together leading scholars and church historians to examine the complex legacy of Anglican involvement in slavery and the ongoing work of reparations within the Episcopal Church. Through thoughtful conversation, the panel explores how historical research is uncovering long-overlooked connections between Anglican institutions and slavery in New Jersey—and how this work is shaping efforts toward truth-telling, reconciliation, and repair today. Featuring: The Rev. Dr. Valerie Bailey (Moderator), Dr. Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski (Princeton University), The Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook (Historiographer of the Episcopal Church). The discussion highlights the vital role of archival research, institutional accountability, and theological reflection in advancing meaningful reparations initiatives." Many thanks to Matthew Payne of the HSEC for producing the video of the event, and to Drs. Bailey and Kujawa-Holbrook for the invite!