Pope Leo XIV issues an apology for the Vatican and the Catholic Church’s historical role in justifying slavery. Multiple outlets report that the Pope acknowledges that the Church failed to address the practice promptly, describing the delayed condemnation as a lasting “wound in Christian memory.” News24 and The Citizen frame the apology as a recognition of centuries of complicity, including the Church’s involvement in legitimising slavery at different points in history. Vanguard similarly reports that the Pope calls the delay itself a grievous mark on Christian remembrance, and that his apology is presented as unusually direct and unprecedented in tone. The reporting indicates that the Pope’s remarks focus on both the Church’s responsibility and the long gap between slavery’s entrenchment and the Church’s clear condemnation. Overall, sources agree that the Pope’s statement is a formal acknowledgement of wrongdoing by the Vatican and that it targets the historical record of justification and the consequences of the prolonged failure to condemn slavery.