Global Circle for Reparations and Healing Congratulated for Its Historic Vision to Confront the Vatican on Enslavement and Reparations

June 4, 2026

The Global Circle for Reparations and Healing has achieved a significant milestone after confronting the Vatican in 2022 about the Catholic Church's role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Following a strategic delegation visit led by Kamm Howard and others who delivered a formal Reparations Presentment, the Vatican released an encyclical in May 2026 that acknowledges the Church's involvement in African enslavement and offers an apology. While the encyclical falls short of the full demands outlined in the Presentment—which included monetary commitments, rescission of papal bulls, and establishment of a papal commission—it represents the first official recognition by the Church and creates an opening for further accountability efforts.

Who is affected

Africans and people of African descent worldwide (descendants of enslaved people)
The Roman Catholic Church and Vatican
The Global Circle for Reparations and Healing (specifically members Kamm Howard, Dr. Ron Daniels, Dr. Amara Enyia, Nikole Hannah-Jones)
Supporting organizations and individuals including Yvonne Darkwa-Poku, Enola Aird, Siphiwe Ka Baleka, Bishop Paul Tighe, Jarrett Smith of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, and various international reparations advocates from the United States, Europe, Africa, Costa Rica, Colombia, Guyana, Belgium, Italy, and the United Kingdom

What action is being taken

The Global Circle continues to press the issue by re-delivering the Presentment to Vatican representatives at sessions of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent
The struggle is moving forward toward full recognition, full apology, and full repair

Why it matters

This matters because it represents the first time the Vatican has officially acknowledged the Catholic Church's role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade and African enslavement through an encyclical, breaking centuries of institutional silence. The acknowledgment creates new leverage and legal/moral foundation for pursuing full reparations and accountability from one of the world's most powerful religious institutions. It demonstrates that coordinated global pressure by marginalized communities can force powerful institutions to confront their historical complicity in atrocities, potentially setting a precedent for other institutions involved in slavery and colonialism to be held accountable.

What's next

Accelerate the Vatican's timeline and press for deeper talks on remaining demands
Continue working toward full recognition, full apology, and full repair
Push for complete admission of complicity, a reparations-centered apology, and full commitment to redress consistent with the Church's own Doctrine of Reconciliation (contrition, confession, restitution, penance, and amends)
Address unfulfilled demands from the original Presentment including rescission of papal bulls, a dedicated encyclical on reparations and healing for African people, establishment of a papal commission, and substantial global monetary commitment to repair

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint