On Wednesday, November 20, 2024, an academic event was held in the ITCJ auditorium on the topic: The Church’s Responsibility Regarding Slavery and Colonization. Professors Jean-Paul Savi, a historian, and Rodrigue Naortangar, a theologian, served as moderators for this academic event.
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During the penitential vigil of the cardinals that opened the final session of the Synod on Synodality, Cardinal Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, read a text that had sparked discussion and controversy. Indeed, through Cardinal Czerny’s words, the Church asked for forgiveness, among other things, for having disregarded the rights and dignity of human beings by discriminating against and exploiting them; and for having been complicit in systems that fostered slavery and colonialism. This request for forgiveness for the Church’s role in slavery and colonization echoes that expressed by John Paul II on the island of Gorée on February 22, 1992. Indeed, these acts of forgiveness evoke the weight of the past and the need to purify memory.
As a theological institute, this act of humility and courage on the part of the Church challenges us and invites us to step back from conventional wisdom in order to reflect on it more deeply. In the African context and in light of the synod, how can we grasp the significance and implications of such a request for forgiveness? By examining the issue from both historical and theological perspectives, this academic paper aims to analyze the implications of this request for forgiveness.
