‘I sincerely ask for pardon’: Pope Leo XIV apologises for Catholic Church’s role in slavery

Pope Leo XIV on Monday (May 25) issued one of the strongest acknowledgements ever made by a pope regarding the Catholic Church’s historical role in slavery, apologising for centuries of delay in condemning the practice and admitting that Church authorities helped legitimise forms of enslavement.

In his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), Pope Leo described slavery as “a wound in Christian memory” and formally asked forgiveness on behalf of the Church.

“For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon,” Pope Leo wrote.

“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’,” he wrote.

The pope also admitted that the Church took centuries to develop a clear and universal rejection of slavery.

“It was only in the 19th century that a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated,” he said.

Pope Leo stressed that while historical events should not be judged entirely by modern standards, the Church’s delayed response cannot be ignored.

“It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically,” 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.”

"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."

“This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached,” the pope wrote.

The remarks are being seen as the clearest papal admission yet of institutional responsibility by the Vatican itself, rather than simply blaming individual Christians or historical societies.

Pope John Paul II asked forgiveness during a 1985 visit to Africa for suffering caused by “men belonging to Christian nations” involved in the slave trade.

Meanwhile, Pope Francis condemned modern slavery and formally repudiated several 15th-century papal decrees that colonial powers had used to justify conquest and enslavement.

However, those statements largely framed responsibility around Christians, colonial governments or historical circumstances rather than directly acknowledging Vatican involvement.

Leo’s comments went further by explicitly referring to actions taken by the Apostolic See and Church institutions themselves.

-Publicly recognises institutional complicity

-Acknowledges delays in moral teaching

-Links historical injustice to present-day ethical debates

-Signals a broader effort at transparency under the new papacy

The apology also fits into Leo’s wider message in Magnifica Humanitas, where he warns that humanity risks repeating forms of exploitation through emerging technologies.

He warned against systems that treat human beings as expendable and urged global leaders to ensure technological development serves human dignity rather than profit or domination.