Pope Leo XIV has issued a historic apology over the Catholic Church’s centuries-long delay in openly condemning slavery, describing the failure as “a wound in Christian memory.”
In a major document titled Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), released on Monday, the pope acknowledged the Church’s past involvement in slavery and admitted that it took centuries before a clear and universal condemnation was made.
“For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon,” Leo wrote while also warning about what he described as “new forms of slavery” emerging within today’s digital economy.
The pontiff noted that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and at times advised European rulers on how to justify the enslavement of non-Christians, referred to at the time as “infidels.”
According to the pope, it was not until the 19th century that the Catholic Church formally adopted an absolute position against slavery.
“It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available,” he wrote. “Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery.”
Leo added that the Church cannot separate itself from that painful history, saying the issue remains “a wound in Christian memory.”
Previous popes, including Pope John Paul II and Pope Francis, had also apologised for the role Christians played in the slave trade and condemned modern forms of slavery. However, observers say Leo’s remarks go further by directly acknowledging the Church’s institutional involvement and delayed response.
