Ghana has welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s apology for the Catholic Church’s historic role in slavery, describing the gesture as an important step toward justice, reconciliation and global healing.
The apology, published on Monday in the Pope’s first major teaching document of his papacy, acknowledged the Church’s involvement in legitimising slavery and its delayed condemnation of the practice over centuries.
In the document titled “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), Pope Leo described the Church’s record on slavery as “a wound in Christian memory” and expressed deep sorrow over the suffering endured by millions of enslaved people.
“It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many,” the Pope wrote, while asking for pardon in the name of the Church.
He admitted that Church authorities had at times responded to rulers by “regulating and legitimising forms of subjugation,” including the enslavement of non-Christians, and acknowledged that ecclesiastical institutions themselves once owned slaves.
Ghana’s government praised the apology as an “act of moral courage,” saying it reinforced the growing global understanding that confronting historical injustice requires truth-telling and accountability.
“The apology reinforces the growing global understanding that confronting historical injustices demands truth-telling and moral responsibility as essential foundations for justice and reconciliation,” the government said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Ghana played a major role in the transatlantic slave trade, serving as a key departure point where millions of Africans were held before being transported to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries.
The West African nation has in recent years intensified calls for reparations and formal apologies from Western nations and institutions that benefited from slavery and colonialism.
In March, Ghana successfully pushed for a United Nations resolution recognising the enslavement of Africans as the “gravest crime against humanity.” The resolution, backed by the African Union, seeks to address the long-term effects of slavery, including inequality and racial discrimination.
Ghana is also expected to host an international conference in June to discuss reparations and next steps following the adoption of the UN resolution.
Human Rights Watch welcomed the Pope’s apology but stressed that symbolic gestures alone were insufficient. The organisation called on religious institutions, governments and corporations that benefited from slavery to participate in meaningful reparative justice efforts.
