The pope condemns the slave trade

April 27, 2021 |

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

In this 1839 apostolic letter “In Supremo Apostolatus,” Pope Gregory XVI condemns the slave trade as the “inhuman traffic in Negroes.” Rome outshines the U.S. in race relations from the 17th through the 20th centuries. Many U.S. bishops as well as men’s and women’s religious orders in this period own slaves, sometimes advocating for their proper treatment.

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