Pope Leo XIV apology sharpens Caribbean reparations debate amid AI warning

Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical has intensified discussion in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean over reparatory justice, after the pontiff acknowledged the Holy See’s institutional role in giving religious authority to European conquest and enslavement. The document, released Monday, May 25, and titled Magnifica Humanitatis, mainly warns governments and corporations about the dangers of unchecked artificial intelligence.

Before turning to technology, the Pope addressed the Catholic Church’s past. He wrote, “it is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many. And then, for this, in the name of the church, I sincerely ask for pardon.” CVM reported that the statement goes beyond earlier papal regrets by speaking to the institution’s own responsibility.

The discussion traced that history to 15th-century papal bulls, including Dum Diversas in 1452, Romanus Pontifex in 1455 and Inter Caetera in 1493. Historians have argued that those documents helped provide religious justification for European expansion, conquest and the enslavement of Africans across the Americas and the Caribbean, including Jamaica.

The programme linked the apology to CARICOM’s 10-point reparatory justice plan, which calls for measures such as formal apologies, health investment, education support, technology transfer, debt cancellation and psychological rehabilitation. It also noted that on March 25, the United Nations General Assembly backed a resolution describing the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. The vote was 123 in favour, 52 abstentions and three against: the United States, Israel and Argentina.

Guests Dr. Kurt Henry, Stephen Golding and Kim Poole welcomed the apology as significant but incomplete. Henry described it as an early move toward truth-telling and healing. Golding argued that the issue of African redemption and chattel slavery deserved its own encyclical, not treatment inside a wider document on technology. Poole said the statement creates an opening for further pressure on the Vatican, but insisted that accountability must move beyond symbolism.

The panel also examined political resistance overseas, including Reform UK’s proposal to block visas for nationals of countries seeking slavery reparations. Speakers argued that Jamaica must continue public education, museum work and international advocacy while also confronting colonial legacies still present in local laws, institutions and attitudes.