Pope Leo XIV apologizes for Vatican’s role in slavery in first encyclical

Pope Leo XIV issued a historic apology Monday for the Catholic Church’s role in legitimizing slavery, acknowledging for the first time the Holy See’s involvement in authorizing the enslavement of non-Christians during the colonial era.

The apology was contained in Magnifica humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”), the pope’s first encyclical focused on protecting human dignity amid the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and digital technologies.

In the encyclical released on May 25, Leo described the Church’s record on slavery as a “wound in Christian memory” and warned against new forms of exploitation tied to the digital revolution.

“It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many,” Leo wrote. 

He added “for this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”

Leo became the first pope to publicly acknowledge and apologize for the role played by earlier popes in legitimizing slavery through papal decrees issued during European colonial expansion.

Among the documents cited was the 1452 papal bull Dum Diversas, issued by Pope Nicholas V, which granted the Portuguese crown authority to conquer non-Christians and reduce them to “perpetual slavery.”

The decree later became part of the basis for the Doctrine of Discovery.

The pope admitted that both society and the Church were slow in recognizing slavery as incompatible with Christian teaching, despite longstanding Church doctrine on human dignity.

He connected the legacy of slavery to modern forms of exploitation linked to artificial intelligence (AI) such as labor abuses to the extraction of rare minerals used in digital technologies.

The Vatican formally presented the encyclical at the Synod Hall with Church leaders, theologians and AI experts, including Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez and AI researcher Christopher Olah.