Ghana Welcomes Pope Leo XIV's Slavery Apology as 12-15 Million Africans Were Shipped Overseas
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 27
Ghana Welcomes Pope Leo XIV's Slavery Apology as 12-15 Million Africans Were Shipped Overseas
9 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 27
Ghana called Pope Leo XIV's apology for the Catholic Church's role in slavery an act of moral courage, saying it advances truth, justice, healing and reconciliation.
Monday's encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, gave Leo's clearest admission yet that Church authorities legitimised forms of subjugation and that ecclesiastical institutions once held slaves.
Ghana's response fits its broader push for accountability: in March it helped win a UN resolution calling the enslavement of Africans the gravest crime against humanity and opening a path toward reparations.
Human Rights Watch said the apology was important but insufficient, urging religious institutions, states and companies that profited from slavery to pursue reparative justice.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, 12-15 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic, with Ghana a major departure hub and a June conference set to discuss next steps.
With major nations opposing reparations, can the Pope’s moral stand compel governments to provide material compensation for slavery?
Beyond words, will the Vatican open its archives and return assets to descendant communities as part of its apology?
By linking slavery's past to AI's future risks, is the Pope redefining the Church's role as a guardian of human dignity?