{"id":195,"date":"2026-05-25T14:40:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T14:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195"},"modified":"2026-05-25T14:40:57","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T14:40:57","slug":"pope-leo-apologises-for-churchs-historic-role-in-slavery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo apologises for Church&#8217;s historic role in slavery"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Summary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>VATICAN CITY, May 25 (Reuters) &#8211; Pope Leo on \u200bMonday issued the clearest apology yet from a pontiff for the Catholic Church&#8217;s \u200crole in slavery, acknowledging both its delay in condemning the practice and its historic involvement in legitimising it.<\/div>\n<div>In a key passage of his first papal encyclical, Leo said the Church had taken centuries to fully recognise &#8220;the \u200bscourge of slavery&#8221; as incompatible with human dignity, calling the legacy &#8220;a wound in Christian \u200bmemory.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for \u2060pardon,&#8221; he wrote in the wide-ranging manifesto, expressing &#8220;deep sorrow&#8221; for the suffering endured by enslaved \u200bpeople.<\/div>\n<div>Leo acknowledged that Church authorities had, at times, responded to rulers by regulating and legitimising \u200bforms of subjugation, including the enslavement of non-Christians.<\/div>\n<div>He also acknowledged that before that time, in the Middle Ages, ecclesiastical institutions had their own slaves.<\/div>\n<div>He said the Church only reached a &#8220;formal, absolute and universal condemnation&#8221; of \u200bslavery in the 19th century, under Pope Leo XIII, after what the current pope described \u200bas a long period of inconsistency in teaching and practice.<\/div>\n<h2>PREVIOUS PAPAL STATEMENTS ON SLAVERY<\/h2>\n<div>The remarks mark the most \u200cexplicit \u2060papal admission to date of institutional responsibility, going beyond earlier statements by previous popes that focused on the actions of individual Christians rather than the Vatican itself.<\/div>\n<div>Pope John Paul II, during a 1985 visit to Africa, asked forgiveness from Africans for the suffering caused by &#8220;men belonging \u200bto Christian nations&#8221; in \u200bthe slave trade.<\/div>\n<div>Leo&#8217;s predecessor \u2060Francis condemned the plight of modern-day slaves and formally repudiated papal documents from the 15th century which were used by colonial powers to \u200bgive legitimacy to their actions, which included slavery.<\/div>\n<div>But such statements stopped \u200bshort of \u2060directly addressing the role of the papacy, instead framing responsibility in broader terms tied to Christians or historical circumstances.<\/div>\n<div>Leo&#8217;s intervention was made in his debut encyclical, &#8220;Magnifica Humanitas&#8221; (Magnificent Humanity), which addresses the ethical \u2060challenges of \u200bartificial intelligence and warns of new forms of exploitation \u200blinked to the global economy.<\/div>\n<div>Genealogical research published after Leo&#8217;s election last year showed that history&#8217;s first U.S.-born pope had \u200ba diverse ancestry that included both enslaved people and slaveholders.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=193\">Trump and Warsh\u2019s fates are now tied, for better or worse<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=190\">Iran war poses new threat to harvests in hunger-stricken Sudan<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=187\">Uganda confirms two more Ebola cases, taking total to seven<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Leo said the Church took centuries to recognize slavery as incompatible with human dignity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[12,10],"class_list":["post-195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-human-rights","tag-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pope Leo apologises for Church&#039;s historic role in slavery - Reliable Moving Crews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope Leo apologises for Church&#039;s historic role in slavery - Reliable Moving Crews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leo said the Church took centuries to recognize slavery as incompatible with human dignity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Reliable Moving Crews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T14:40:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/34f02a869ba60b78ae3d994f205e0d24\"},\"headline\":\"Pope Leo apologises for Church&#8217;s historic role in slavery\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-25T14:40:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195\"},\"wordCount\":418,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0008266e28f4051ced6579a17a5dde71.avif\",\"keywords\":[\"Human Rights\",\"World\"],\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195\",\"name\":\"Pope Leo apologises for Church's historic role in slavery - Reliable Moving Crews\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0008266e28f4051ced6579a17a5dde71.avif\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-25T14:40:57+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/34f02a869ba60b78ae3d994f205e0d24\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0008266e28f4051ced6579a17a5dde71.avif\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/0008266e28f4051ced6579a17a5dde71.avif\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1005},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?p=195#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pope Leo apologises for Church&#8217;s historic role in slavery\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Reliable Moving Crews\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/34f02a869ba60b78ae3d994f205e0d24\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/reliablemovingcrews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pope Leo apologises for Church's historic role in slavery - Reliable Moving Crews","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pope Leo apologises for Church's historic role in slavery - Reliable Moving Crews","og_description":"Leo said the Church took centuries to recognize slavery as incompatible with human dignity.","og_url":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195","og_site_name":"Reliable Moving Crews","article_published_time":"2026-05-25T14:40:57+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34f02a869ba60b78ae3d994f205e0d24"},"headline":"Pope Leo apologises for Church&#8217;s historic role in slavery","datePublished":"2026-05-25T14:40:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195"},"wordCount":418,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0008266e28f4051ced6579a17a5dde71.avif","keywords":["Human Rights","World"],"articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195","url":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195","name":"Pope Leo apologises for Church's historic role in slavery - Reliable Moving Crews","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0008266e28f4051ced6579a17a5dde71.avif","datePublished":"2026-05-25T14:40:57+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34f02a869ba60b78ae3d994f205e0d24"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0008266e28f4051ced6579a17a5dde71.avif","contentUrl":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0008266e28f4051ced6579a17a5dde71.avif","width":1920,"height":1005},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=195#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pope Leo apologises for Church&#8217;s historic role in slavery"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/","name":"Reliable Moving Crews","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/34f02a869ba60b78ae3d994f205e0d24","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com"],"url":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}