Pope Issues Apology for Church’s Historical Role in Slavery in Landmark Encyclical

Pope Leo XIV has issued a historic apology for the Catholic Church’s historical role in legitimizing slavery and for failing to condemn it for centuries, calling it a “wound in Christian memory,” Nicole Winfield and Paolo Santalucia reported for The Associated Press (AP).

The apology was included in his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), which also focuses on ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence. (Photo: Pope Leo XIV X)

While previous popes have apologized for Christians’ involvement in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Leo’s statement is the first to explicitly acknowledge and apologize for papal authority being used in past centuries to justify enslavement of non-Christian peoples.

The apology was included in his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), which also focuses on ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

Leo linked historical slavery to modern concerns, arguing that new forms of exploitation are emerging through global supply chains and the extraction of rare minerals used in AI technologies.

He said the Church must confront both historical injustices and contemporary “digital-era inequalities.”