Vatican City — Pope Leo XIV issued a formal apology Monday for the Catholic Church’s historical role in legitimizing slavery, calling the institution’s delayed condemnation of the practice a “wound in Christian memory.”
The comments appeared in the pope’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, a lengthy document largely focused on artificial intelligence, labor exploitation, and protecting human dignity in the digital age. Leo, the first American pope, warned that AI-driven industries rely heavily on hidden labor forces, including workers exposed to dangerous conditions in rare-earth mineral extraction and content moderation.
The pope also argued that modern technology could create “new forms of global subordination” and warned human traffickers may increasingly exploit artificial intelligence systems.
Addressing the Church’s own history, Leo acknowledged that slavery was tolerated for centuries by both political and religious institutions, including parts of the Catholic Church. He noted that some Church authorities historically regulated or legitimized forms of human subjugation before slavery was universally condemned under Pope Leo XIII during the nineteenth century.
“For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon,” Leo wrote, expressing sorrow for the suffering endured by enslaved people throughout history.
The encyclical marks one of the strongest statements yet from the Vatican connecting historical injustices with modern ethical debates surrounding technology, labor, and human rights.
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