The Catholic Church has a complex and often controversial history regarding its role in slavery, colonialism, and wealth accumulation.

While it has also been a force for charity and education, its institutional actions and teachings have, at various points, facilitated and benefited from these practices.

The Church and the Justification of Slavery

The Catholic Church’s relationship with slavery is deeply intertwined with European exploration and empire-building. Starting in the 15th century, with the expansion of Portuguese and Spanish empires, the Church provided a religious framework that legitimized the enslavement of non-Christians. Papal bulls, or decrees, were instrumental in this process. For example, Pope Nicholas V's "Dum Diversas" (1452) and "Romanus Pontifex" (1455) granted Portugal the right to "reduce Saracens, pagans and any other unbelievers" to "perpetual slavery." These documents created a religious precedent that justified the emerging transatlantic slave trade.

Another key papal bull, "Inter Caetera" (1493), issued by Pope Alexander VI, further cemented this position. It authorized Spain and Portugal to colonize the Americas and enslave its native peoples, claiming this was necessary to convert them to Christianity. The belief in a "just war doctrine," which held that Christians could enslave non-Christians who refused to accept Catholicism, was a convenient theological tool.

While some individual clergy members and later popes, such as Pope Paul III with his bull "Sublimis Deus" (1537), condemned the enslavement of indigenous peoples of the Americas, these decrees were often ignored and didn't apply to the African slave trade. The Church itself, including various religious orders like the Jesuits, owned slaves on plantations and as domestic servants, profiting directly from their labor. The Church's position on slavery was not one of consistent opposition, but rather one that often reflected and accommodated the political and economic realities of the time.

Colonialism and the Doctrine of Discovery

The Church played a central role in the age of colonialism through the "Doctrine of Discovery." This legal and theological concept, rooted in the aforementioned papal bulls, gave Christian nations the right to claim land inhabited by non-Christians. It provided a powerful moral and religious justification for the seizure of Indigenous lands and the subjugation of their peoples.

Missionaries often worked alongside conquistadors and colonial administrators, with the conversion of native populations serving as a primary justification for conquest. The "Requerimiento," a Spanish document read to Indigenous peoples, demanded their submission to the Spanish monarchy and the Church, with the threat of war and enslavement for refusal. This blurred the lines between evangelization and political domination, positioning the Church as a co-conspirator in the colonial project. The "civilizing mission," a core tenet of later European empires, also had a religious dimension, framing colonialism as a benevolent act of bringing Christianity and "civilization" to what were considered "primitive" peoples.

Wealth Accumulation and Economic Power

For centuries, the Catholic Church has been a major accumulator of wealth and a significant economic power. During the Middle Ages, the Church became the largest landowner in Europe. This wealth was not only derived from tithes (a tax of 10% on earnings) and donations, but also from the immense properties it inherited from nobles seeking salvation or from pious bequests. The Church also profited from the sale of indulgences, which promised a shorter stay in purgatory for a price, and from the trade in holy relics, some of which were of dubious authenticity.

This wealth funded the construction of magnificent cathedrals, basilicas, and monasteries, as well as the patronage of art and culture during the Renaissance. However, this accumulation of wealth also led to accusations of corruption and a growing chasm between the Church's spiritual ideals and its temporal power. The Reformation, in part, was a response to this perceived corruption, with reformers like Martin Luther openly criticizing the sale of indulgences and the immense wealth of the papacy.

While much of the Church's wealth was confiscated by various states during the Reformation and the French Revolution, it continued to be a major financial entity. Today, while the Vatican's official budget is relatively modest compared to major corporations, the Church's global assets—including real estate, art, and investments—are vast and difficult to quantify, making it one of the wealthiest institutions in the world.

The video "Stories, mysteries and controversies that defined the Catholic Church" offers a look at a range of historical moments, including some of the controversies discussed here. Stories, mysteries and controversies that defined the Catholic Church