Pastor Column: Slavery

From the Bulletin of Pentecost Sunday May 31, 2020

     I want to back up about 100 years on our historical journey. The Council of Trent was a major event in the history of our faith, clarifying much of what we have always believed and continue to believe as Catholics. But there were other historical currents running alongside this one whose source was just a little before the 1500s.

     There are some who argue criticize Christianity by saying that it permitted or even encouraged slavery . They point to passages in Scripture which tell slaves to be obedient and they claim the Church was part of the enslavement of Africans and Native Americans in the New World. But the Truth can set us free from that false guilt. When Scripture speaks to slaves and tells them to be obedient, it is because Scripture is not a political agenda and was written in a context where slavery had a much broader meaning that it did in from the 1400s onward. In the ancient world, slavery did not always equal absolute control and lack of rights. Further, the goal of Scripture is the salvation of souls, so these passages are advising slaves on how to save their souls even though they cannot free their bodies from enslavement. Christ himself voluntarily accepted unjust abuse for our sake and submitted to people like Pontius Pilate who had no real authority over him. By encouraging slaves to endure their trials well in the same way, Scripture is actually acknowledging that they are being unjustly treated. In other passages, like the second reading at Mass today and the whole letter to Philemon, it’s pretty clear that the faith does not justify enslavement but seeks genuine freedom and equality of dignity, just not in a violent way.

    Regarding the historical claim, it’s true that many Christians throughout history have done terrible things despite their faith, which does not change what we know to be true. Many critics fail to point out, however that for 1000 years in Christian Europe, after the fall of the pagan roman empire, Christian countries did not practice slavery. It wasn’t until 1442 that slavery re-entered the Christianized world. This happened when some Portuguese explorers ended up in a conflict with some Muslims in Africa and captured some prisoners. The Sheik offered to buy the Muslim prisoners back, but not with gold. He suggested a trade of slaves for prisoners, which the captain accepted. Bringing these slaves back to Portugal then sparked a lot of interest. Despite being a Christian, the Prince at that time reasoned that it was better keep them as slaves to Christians than letting them go free and remain pagans. It was thought this might lead to the conversion of the slaves. It also opened up the practice of the slave trade – unknown to the Christian world for 1000 years – in a Christian country. Other leaders, but not official Church teaching, thought these slaves were less than human and so allowed to be enslaved. As exploration expanded to the Americas, it encompassed natives as well.

     Meanwhile, many saints and theologians stringently fought against slavery, recognizing that it was not compatible with the faith. Almost a 100 years into this ravaging trend,  on June 2, 1537, the Pope himself clearly and solemnly condemned the practice in a document named Sublimis Deus. He declares that they natives have souls and dignity and must be treated with respect. The Pope writes, “Indians and all other people who may later be discovered by Christians, are by no means to be deprived of their liberty or the possession of their property, even though they be outside the faith of Jesus Christ; and that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property; nor should they be in any way enslaved; should the contrary happen, it shall be null and have no effect.” This doctrine stands to this day. Sadly, many in the Christian world simply ignored this teaching, but again, that reflects on the people themselves, not the teaching of the Church, which we know to be protected by the Holy Spirit.

In Christ,
-Fr. Albert