Pope Leo, in his first papal encyclical, asked for forgiveness for the Catholic Church's historical role in slavery. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
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The Pontiff acknowledged that it took the Church centuries to fully condemn slavery and recognize it as incompatible with human dignity. He called this legacy a "wound in Christian memory."
"For this, on behalf of the Church, I sincerely ask for forgiveness,"
The Pope also expressed "deep regret" over the suffering of enslaved people.
Leo noted that at various historical periods, church authorities not only failed to oppose slavery but also legitimized certain forms of enslavement, particularly regarding non-Christians. Furthermore, he acknowledged that in the Middle Ages, church institutions themselves owned slaves.
The Pope emphasized that the Catholic Church expressed a "formal, absolute, and universal condemnation" of slavery only in the 19th century during the pontificate of Leo XIII. The current head of the Vatican called the Church's previous position a "long period of inconsistency in teaching and practice."
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