It is the clearest apology yet from the Vatican. Now Ghana says the Pope’s words on slavery are an act of moral courage the world needs.

Ghana has welcomed Pope Leo XIV’s apology for the Catholic Church’s historic role in slavery, calling it an act of moral courage that matters in the global push for truth, human dignity and justice, cbinews.tv reports.

On Monday, the Pope issued what many see as the clearest apology yet for the Church’s part in legitimising slavery and its centuries long delay in condemning it. The apology came in his first major teaching document of his papacy, which also warned about the dangers of artificial intelligence.

Ghana knows this history all too well. The country was a major hub for the transatlantic slave trade. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, an estimated 12 to 15 million Africans were shipped to the Caribbean. Around two million died during the journey.

For years, Ghana has led calls for compensation and apologies from Western nations over the slave trade. The government said the Pope’s recognition of that painful past is an important step towards healing, reconciliation and a just society.

The apology was delivered in an encyclical, technically a letter to Catholic bishops, but in recent decades it has become the way a pontiff speaks to the world.

In the letter titled Magnifica Humanitas, meaning Magnificent Humanity, Pope Leo sincerely asked for a pardon in the name of the Church. He said it was impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many.

Leo admitted that Church authorities had at times responded to requests of rulers by regulating and legitimising forms of subjugation, including the enslavement of non-Christians. He also acknowledged that earlier in the Middle Ages, ecclesiastical institutions had their own slaves. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, he said of the Church’s record.

In April, Pope Leo completed an 11-day, four nation tour of Africa, his first visit to the continent as pontiff. During that trip, he made several forthright remarks, including criticism of foreigners who exploit Africa’s wealth for profit.

Ghana said the Pope’s acknowledgement comes at a time when the world is having a deeper reflection on the effects of slavery and colonialism.

In March, Ghana successfully pushed for a UN resolution that recognised the enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.

Submitted by President John Mahama and backed by the African Union, the resolution aims to provide a pathway to healing and the payment of reparations. It also seeks to address lasting consequences of slavery like inequality and racial discrimination.

Ghana still has some of the forts that were used to hold captives under inhuman conditions before they were shipped to the Americas by European powers. The country is due to host a conference in June to discuss next steps following the adoption of the UN resolution.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch said the Pope’s apology marked an important step. But the group stressed that apologies alone are not enough.

Real reparative justice needs to go further, it said. Religious institutions, along with states and corporations that benefited from slavery, should reckon seriously with their histories and take part in reparative efforts.

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