Pope Leo’s historic apology for the Catholic Church’s role in slavery has some local Catholics excited about the direction the church is heading.
In his first major encyclical released since becoming head of the Catholic Church last year, Pope Leo on Monday apologized for the role the Vatican played in validating slavery and for taking too long to condemn the practice.
Pope Leo said the church cannot “deny or diminish the delay” in denouncing slavery.
“This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached,” he wrote. “It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord. For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Donna Doucette, a trustee with the Boston-based lay organization Voice of the Faithful, noted that previous popes have spoken against slavery, but Leo is the first to apologize for the church’s role.
“It is important as a step for the institutional church to begin its effort to regain, especially in the United States, its ability to speak to moral issues coherently,” Doucette said.
Doucette said the pontiff’s comments could be a bridge for the church to reassess its past and find its place in a modern world.
“I see, personally, great improvement and a willingness to stand up, point out where the church as an institution has been in error and to apologize for those times,” she said.
Father Rick Walsh, director of the Paulist Center, a progressive Catholic community located in Downtown Boston, said the Pope’s comments were “very powerful” and a reminder of the moral challenges faced by people all over the world.
“He’s doing his job to raise the flag and say, ‘This is a problem, and you have to see that big picture,’” Walsh said.
Susan Rutkowski, the pastoral minister of Social Justice and Family Religious Education at the Paulist Center, said the encyclical was “edifying.”
“Silence and not taking responsibility for our actions is the biggest way we can be complicit in the injustices in our world,” she said. “I think our community will be very proud of Pope Leo and ... prouder to be a Catholic in the light of these comments.”
In his message, Pope Leo also warned of artificial intelligence and “new forms of slavery” created by the global tech industry.
“Without this ethical and humanizing reflection, the growing power of digital systems could lead us toward new atrocities that are no less shameful than those of the past that we now deplore,” Leo wrote.
Walsh said the Pope’s comments on artificial intelligence and its dangers are very clear.
“If we’re not on top of this now … we’re in trouble, because we’re going to repeat ourselves with not stepping up,” Walsh said.
