Ghana has praised Pope Leo XIV’s apology for the Catholic Church’s historical role in slavery, describing it as an act of moral courage. The West African nation, a leading voice in global reparations advocacy, framed the papal statement as meaningful progress toward healing and accountability. Ghana recently secured a landmark UN resolution recognizing the enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity and is set to host a follow-up conference on the matter in June. The Pope’s apology strengthens the nation’s broader campaign for reparations, giving moral weight to demands for reparations from states and corporations. Despite the acknowledgment, the apology’s real significance lies in whether it translates into concrete financial and structural reparative commitments.
BBC
