A Visit Is Not ReparationsWhy Pope Leo’s Africa tour cannot erase 571 years of Vatican silence

On April 13, 2026, Pope Leo XIV arrived in Algeria. Over eleven days, he will travel nearly 18,000 kilometres, visiting eleven cities across four African nations. He will speak of peace, of forgiveness, of an end to “neocolonial tendencies.” His words will be broadcast around the world. Cameras will capture his handshakes, his prayers, his gestures of solidarity. African Catholics will gather in stadiums to hear him. The symbolism will be overwhelming.

And none of it will constitute reparations. Not a single euro. Not a single artefact returned. Not a single papal bull repealed. The Vatican has had 571 years to apologise for the bulls that authorised the enslavement of Africans. It has chosen gestures instead. A visit is not an apology. A visit is not restitution. This essay prosecutes the Vatican’s long silence – and demands the justice that words alone cannot deliver.

I. The Crime Scene: The Papal Bulls That Authorised Enslavement

On 18 June 1452, Pope Nicholas V issued the papal bull Dum Diversas. It granted Afonso V of Portugal “full and free permission to invade, search out, capture, and subjugate the Saracens and pagans and any other unbelievers” and to consign them to “perpetual servitude.” This was not a private document. It was a formal decree of the highest authority in Christendom – a theological authorisation for the enslavement of African peoples. Three years later, on 8 January 1455, the same pope issued Romanus Pontifex, which extended and reaffirmed these permissions, granting Portugal dominion over all lands discovered or conquered during the Age of Discovery and explicitly authorising the slave trade along the African coast. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued Inter Caetera, which established the Doctrine of Discovery – the principle that Christian European powers held the right to claim sovereignty over any territory not already governed by a Christian ruler. This doctrine was later incorporated into international law and cited in United States courts as recently as 2005. These three bulls are not historical curiosities. They are the formal theological foundation of the Atlantic slave trade and the colonisation of Africa.

II. The Excavation: What the Vatican Has Never Apologised For

TSA Module 2 (Excavation) recovers what the colonial curriculum – and the Vatican – have buried. The Catholic Church’s role in the transatlantic slave trade is not a footnote. It is a primary crime. The papal bulls provided the moral and legal justification for the trafficking and enslavement of millions of Africans, all purportedly in the name of Jesus Christ. Portuguese and Spanish monarchs did not act independently; they sought and received papal authorisation. The bulls were cited in legal arguments for centuries, forming the basis for European claims to African land and African bodies. Yet the Vatican has never formally repealed these bulls. In March 2023, the Vatican formally repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, stating that the theory “is not a part of the teaching of the Catholic Church.” But a repudiation is not a repeal. The bulls themselves remain on the books. They have never been formally rescinded. The Vatican has also never issued a formal apology specifically for its role in the slave trade. Instead, it offers gestures: a statement here, a prayer there, a papal visit that avoids the hard questions.

III. The Deconstruction: Who Benefits When the Vatican Offers Words Instead of Reparations?

TSA Module 3 (Deconstruction) demands that we follow the interest. Who benefits when the Vatican condemns slavery in the abstract while evading concrete accountability? The first beneficiary is the Vatican itself. By offering gestures without restitution, the Church preserves its moral authority while paying no material cost. It can claim to stand against modern slavery while ignoring the historical slavery that built its own institutions. The second beneficiary is the global North. The Vatican’s silence provides cover for former colonial powers that also refuse to pay reparations. If the Pope does not apologise, why should the British Prime Minister? The third beneficiary is the post‑colonial elite that profits from the status quo. A genuine Vatican apology – with concrete restitution – would set a precedent for other institutions, including governments. The Vatican’s evasion is not an oversight. It is a strategic choice.

IV. The Cross‑Examination: What the Vatican Cannot Answer

When the Vatican’s UN ambassador, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, responded to the March 2026 UN resolution on reparations, he condemned modern slavery while countering what he called a “partial narrative” in the resolution – a resolution that cited the papal bulls as primary examples of the legal codification of chattel slavery. The cross‑examination is simple: if the narrative is “partial,” what part does the Vatican dispute? That the bulls were issued? That they authorised enslavement? That they were used as legal justification for centuries? The Vatican has never answered these questions directly. Instead, it offers a 2023 repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery – a doctrine that grew out of the bulls – while leaving the bulls themselves intact. The cross‑examination continues: if the bulls are not part of Catholic teaching, why have they not been formally repealed? The Vatican has no credible answer.

V. The Looted Heritage: Manuscripts That Remain Stolen

Words are not enough, but even words have been insufficient. The Vatican continues to hold hundreds of Ethiopian Orthodox Christian manuscripts looted during fascist Italy’s occupation of Ethiopia from 1936 to 1942. An estimated 325 manuscripts, many of them sacred texts, remain in the Vatican Library. Ethiopia has formally requested their return. The Vatican has stalled. In 2025, reports emerged that the Vatican was “stalling on the return of 325 Ethiopian Orthodox manuscripts looted by the governor of Harar, Enrico Cerulli, during fascist Italy’s occupation.” Ethiopia has threatened legal action against the Italian government. The Vatican’s inaction speaks louder than any papal prayer. A church that cannot return stolen sacred texts cannot claim to have repented.

VI. The TSA Antidote: What Genuine Vatican Reparations Would Look Like

TSA Module 4 (Reconstruction) does not merely deconstruct; it builds. Genuine Vatican reparations would require three concrete actions. First, the formal repeal of the papal bulls – not a repudiation of their consequences, but a direct, formal, canonical repeal of Dum Diversas, Romanus Pontifex, and Inter Caetera. The Vatican has the authority to do this. It has chosen not to. Second, the return of all looted African artefacts held in Vatican collections – beginning with the 325 Ethiopian manuscripts, but extending to other sacred objects taken during colonial expeditions. Third, a Vatican‑funded education initiative across Africa – specifically, the funding of TSA teacher training in Catholic schools across the continent. The Catholic Church operates thousands of schools in Africa. If the Vatican truly wants to make amends, it can start by decolonising the curriculum in its own institutions. These are not radical demands. They are the bare minimum of restorative justice.

VII. Pre‑empting the Defence: “But the Vatican Has Already Apologised”

The inevitable counter‑argument: “The Vatican has already repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery. Pope Francis apologised for the Church’s role in colonialism. What more do you want?” The response is forensic. A repudiation is not a repeal. An apology is not restitution. The papal bulls still exist. The artefacts are still in Vatican vaults. The Vatican has not offered a single euro in reparations to Africa. Words are not enough. Moreover, the Vatican’s 2026 UN response – condemning slavery while disputing a “partial narrative” – reveals the institution’s ambivalence. It wants credit for condemning modern slavery while evading accountability for the historical slavery it enabled. The Church cannot have it both ways.

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