{"id":6319,"date":"2026-05-26T13:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/26\/write-of-passage-sorry-for-slavery-checks-for-criminals\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T13:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T13:10:00","slug":"write-of-passage-sorry-for-slavery-checks-for-criminals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/2026\/05\/26\/write-of-passage-sorry-for-slavery-checks-for-criminals\/","title":{"rendered":"Write of Passage: Sorry for Slavery. Checks for Criminals."},"content":{"rendered":"<!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-6319-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/199274849\/9efdbcb2a47b8a8a17ca1a1a3bffd729.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/199274849\/9efdbcb2a47b8a8a17ca1a1a3bffd729.mp3\">https:\/\/api.substack.com\/feed\/podcast\/199274849\/9efdbcb2a47b8a8a17ca1a1a3bffd729.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n<p>While criminals get rich, a holy man said sorry. &#8211; The pope apologized for the Catholic Church\u2019s role in slavery. Five hundred and seventy-four years after popes authorized the enslavement of Africans, the Vatican finally admits its complicity.<\/p><div id=\"vanes-818180697\" class=\"vanes-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 2px;margin-right: 2px;margin-bottom: 2px;margin-left: 2px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\" aria-label=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?fit=1706%2C2560&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Fire Sword &amp; Sea\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1706&ssl=1 1706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C300&ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&ssl=1 683w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C1536&ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?resize=1365%2C2048&ssl=1 1365w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/FireSwordSea_HC-scaled.jpg?w=1280&ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"569\" height=\"853\"   \/><\/a><\/div>\n<p>So I\u2019m asking. What does an apology mean when violent offenders and felons get reparations? I\u2019m thinking this might be the first receipt in a long-overdue accounting.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Pope Leo XIV used his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas \u2014 \u201cMagnificent Humanity\u201d \u2014 to apologize for the Catholic Church\u2019s role in legitimizing slavery.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know if y\u2019all understand how big of a deal that is.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Associated Press, this is the first time a pope has publicly acknowledged and apologized for the role that past popes themselves played in giving European sovereigns authority to subjugate and enslave non-Christians.<\/p>\n<p>That is huge.<\/p>\n<p>But at the same time?<\/p>\n<p>It is still just words.<\/p>\n<p>So today, I\u2019m going to give you a little history \u2014 and some math.<\/p>\n<p>In every book I write that involves the Caribbean, one of the most disconcerting things I find is that the Catholic Church was complicit in the moral sin of enslavement.<\/p>\n<p>I am a woman of faith (or, as Ellen, my daughter, says, Non-denominational with Baptist leanings).<\/p>\n<p>My faith grounds me. It\u2019s my identity. It has sustained me in some of my darkest hours.<\/p>\n<p>But when I do research and see enslaved people working in horrible conditions for priests, ministers, missionaries, and all the Catholic orders, I have to sit with that contradiction.<\/p>\n<p>Can you imagine spreading the good news of a Savior while returning to camp to beat and punish someone because the law said you were allowed to own them? Can you imagine preaching salvation while denying someone else\u2019s humanity?<\/p>\n<p>Today I ask: what matters more \u2014 the apology, or the 574-year delay?<\/p>\n<p>In 1452, Pope Nicholas V issued Dum Diversas, authorizing the Portuguese crown to conquer, subjugate, and enslave non-Christians in Africa. The AP reports that this gave permission to \u201creduce their persons to perpetual slavery.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was 574 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Five hundred and seventy-four years is a long time to wait for someone to say, \u201cWe were wrong.\u201d So yes, give some credit to Pope Leo.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s American. He is from Chicago. His family tree includes both enslaved people and enslavers. Maybe all of that matters. Maybe that\u2019s why he could step up and say wrong is wrong, even if his own hands were never on the master\u2019s whip.<\/p>\n<p>That means something.<\/p>\n<p>But it does not mean everything.<\/p>\n<p>Because apologies without repair are just public relations.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s talk numbers.<\/p>\n<p>In 1838, the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus \u2014 the Jesuits \u2014 sold 272 enslaved people to two Louisiana planters for $115,000.<\/p>\n<p>That gives us a benchmark:<\/p>\n<p>$115,000 divided by 272 people equals $422.79 per enslaved person in 1838 dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Historian Andrew Dial estimates that they held more than 20,000 people in bondage by the mid-eighteenth century.<\/p>\n<p>So let\u2019s calculate from there.<\/p>\n<p>If 20,000 enslaved people were valued at the Georgetown benchmark:<\/p>\n<p>20,000 \u00d7 $422.79 = $8.46 million in 1838 dollars. $296\u2013338 million<\/p>\n<p>But Jesuits are just one order of the Catholic Church, if you add the Franciscans, Dominicans, Capuchins, missions, universities, and the plantation systems throughout Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, Louisiana, and the French Caribbean, you can increase that number to 100,000 &#8211; 400,000 enslaved people.<\/p>\n<p>The value rises from $296 Million to as high as $5 billion in today\u2019s dollars.<\/p>\n<p>That is the math.<\/p>\n<p>Now let\u2019s widen the lens.<\/p>\n<p>The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database estimates about 12.5 million Africans were transported across the Atlantic slave trade.<\/p>\n<p>Using the same Georgetown benchmark:<\/p>\n<p>12.5 million \u00d7 $422.79 = $5.285 billion in 1838 dollars.<\/p>\n<p>In today\u2019s dollars, that is roughly: $185 billion to $211 billion.<\/p>\n<p>And that is still only the body-price.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not labor.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not land.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not sugar.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not cotton.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not tobacco.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not banks.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not insurance.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not universities.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not inherited wealth.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Not compound interest.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Just the sale value of humans.<\/p>\n<p>Well, Vanessa, I\u2019m not Catholic. I figured you\u2019d remember that. Let\u2019s bring this home to the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Historians generally estimate that about 388,000 Africans were directly imported into what became the United States. By 1860, the enslaved population had grown to nearly 4 million people through forced reproduction and hereditary slavery.<\/p>\n<p>Using the Georgetown benchmark:<\/p>\n<p>4,000,000 \u00d7 $422.79 = $1.691 billion in 1838 dollars.<\/p>\n<p>Converted today: $59 billion to $68 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Now, if you divided that across roughly 49 million Black Americans today, that would be about: <strong>$1,200 to $1,388 per person<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>And somebody will say, \u201cSee, that\u2019s not that much. Get over it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>They would be right about the number, because it is too small. It only values enslaved people as property. It does not include what was stolen from them and their descendants.<\/p>\n<p>It does not include:<\/p>\n<p>* 250 years of unpaid labor,<\/p>\n<p>* lost wages,<\/p>\n<p>* stolen inheritance,<\/p>\n<p>* land theft,<\/p>\n<p>* banking and insurance profits,<\/p>\n<p>* cotton, tobacco, and sugar profits,<\/p>\n<p>* Jim Crow,<\/p>\n<p>* poll taxes,<\/p>\n<p>* redlining,<\/p>\n<p>* burned Black business districts,<\/p>\n<p>* medical experimentation,<\/p>\n<p>* biased healthcare,<\/p>\n<p>* or the generational trauma that shows up in Black bodies today.<\/p>\n<p>* Excuse me while I take my blood pressure medicine.<\/p>\n<p>* Le Sigh.<\/p>\n<p>All of this moves the numbers from billions to trillions. Wage-based models alone calculate unpaid labor plus interest at $19.1 trillion.<\/p>\n<p>So now we\u2019re talking about <strong>$466K per descendant of US Chattel slavery<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Congress is not about to cut anybody but a blood relative of the president or a convicted J6 criminal a check for $466,000. It would be nice, but I\u2019d not bet on fairness or wholeness.<\/p>\n<p>And speaking of blood pressure, the National Institutes of Health shows Black Americans are still affected by structural racism and intergenerational trauma, which leads to Hypertension. Heart disease and higher rates of maternal and infant mortality.<\/p>\n<p>That sounds like payable damages to me. Any trial lawyers listening?<\/p>\n<p>All of this is to say that if the federal government can create a $1.776 billion \u201cAnti-Weaponization Fund\u201d to compensate people who claim they were harmed by government power, then maybe we should ask: what do we call slavery, Jim Crow, redlining, poll taxes, eminent domain seizures, and violence directed at Black families\u2014 but being harmed by government power?<\/p>\n<p>The Justice Department will issue formal apologies and monetary relief to people who suffered improper government action from their criminal activities, but not to people harmed by the government\u2019s racial biased policies .<\/p>\n<p>Remember slavery was encoded in laws, directed by government actions in Black Codes, Jim Crow, and redlining.<\/p>\n<p>Remember poll taxes were legal<\/p>\n<p>And today, eminent domain is still being used to strip Black families of land.<\/p>\n<p>If America has suddenly discovered that formal apologies and monetary relief are appropriate to repair harm done by the government, I have a list.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not as long as 574 years, but it begins with an apology.<\/p>\n<p>I thank Pope Leo. This is a start. It\u2019s not the end. Truth cracks open the door.<\/p>\n<p>Because good people ask forgiveness for their sins.<\/p>\n<p>And we need to figure out how to stop bad ones from getting paid for theirs.<\/p>\n<p>And if you\u2019re feeling generous, you can always subscribe. Very generous, consider becoming a paid subscriber. <\/p>\n<p> Extremely beneficial, patron level &#8212; Checks can be made payable to Vanessa Riley, in care of Gallium Optronics, LLC.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s reading list includes:<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/86036\/9780399590870\"><strong>The 272<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>&#8211; Rachel L. SwarnsA modern account of the Jesuit sale of 272 enslaved people that helped stabilize Georgetown University financially.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/86036\/9780465049660\"><strong>The Half Has Never Been Told<\/strong><\/a><strong>&#8211; <\/strong>Edward E. BaptistIllustrates the economic arguments showing slavery as foundational to American capitalism.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/86036\/9781631494536\"><strong>The Color of Law<\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>&#8211; Richard RothsteinShows how redlining and segregation were legally engineered by government policy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you\u2019re mad enough to raise a sword and consider purchasing <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/resistbooksellers.com\/product\/fire-sword-and-sea\/\"><strong>Fire Sword and Sea<\/strong><\/a><strong>, my latest release.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Or if you are in need of laughs and inclusivity and to see the guys win, preorder or review at NetGalley, or request at your local library, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/a\/86036\/9781420154870\">A Deal at Dawn<\/a>. Step into a cliffhanger, where the Duke of Torrance is dying to finally be a father to his daughter, but he must deal with the girl\u2019s mother, the woman who humbled him and broke his heart.<\/p>\n<p>Get these books from<strong> <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/resistbooksellers.com\/\"><strong>Resist Booksellers <\/strong><\/a><strong>. <\/strong>They still have a few signed copies of<strong> Fire Sword and Sea.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can also try one of my partners in the fight<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/fireswordandsea.htm\"><strong>, bookstores<\/strong><\/a><strong> large and small, who are in the trenches with me.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>You can find my notes on Substack or on my website, <\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanessariley.com\/\"><strong>VanessaRiley.com<\/strong><\/a><strong>, under the podcast link in the About tab.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Hey. Let\u2019s keep rising and creating together. I need you. Like, share, subscribe, and stay connected to <\/strong><strong><em>Write of Passage<\/em><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thank you for being here.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I want you to come again. This is Vanessa Riley.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sources:<\/p>\n<p>1.\tAssociated Press. \u201cThe Vatican\u2019s \u2018Doctrine of Discovery\u2019 Is Linked to Colonialism. What Is It?\u201d Associated Press, March 30, 2023.  Associated Press article <\/p>\n<p>2.\tBrookings Institution. \u201cBlack Reparations and the Racial Wealth Gap.\u201d Brookings, June 8, 2020.  Brookings article <\/p>\n<p>3.\tGarrigus, John D. \u201cCatholicism and Slavery in Saint-Domingue.\u201d Journal Article via JSTOR. Accessed May 25, 2026.  JSTOR source <\/p>\n<p>4.\tGeorgetown University. \u201cGeorgetown Slavery Archive.\u201d Accessed May 25, 2026.  Georgetown Slavery Archive <\/p>\n<p>5.\tGeorgetown University. \u201cReconciliation Fund.\u201d Accessed May 25, 2026.  Georgetown Reconciliation Fund <\/p>\n<p>6.\tMeasuring Worth. \u201cThe Economic Value of Slavery in the United States.\u201d Accessed May 25, 2026.  Measuring Worth slavery valuation <\/p>\n<p>7.\tMurphy, Thomas. Jesuit Slaveholding in Maryland, 1717\u20131838. Georgetown University Repository. Accessed May 25, 2026.  Jesuit Slaveholding in Maryland <\/p>\n<p>8.\tPBS. \u201cHow Many Slaves Landed in the U.S.?\u201d African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross. Accessed May 25, 2026.  PBS slavery statistics <\/p>\n<p>9.\tPew Research Center. \u201cFacts About the U.S. Black Population.\u201d Accessed May 25, 2026.  Pew Research Center demographics <\/p>\n<p>10.\tReuters. \u201cPope Leo Apologises for Church\u2019s Historic Role in Slavery.\u201d Reuters, May 25, 2026.  Reuters article on Pope Leo XIV apology <\/p>\n<p>11.\tRothman, Adam. \u201cReview Essay on Jesuits and Slavery.\u201d Journal of Jesuit Studies. Accessed May 25, 2026.  Journal of Jesuit Studies PDF <\/p>\n<p>12.\tSlave Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. \u201cEstimates.\u201d Accessed May 25, 2026.  Slave Voyages Database <\/p>\n<p>13.\tSwarns, Rachel L. The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church. New York: Random House, 2023.<\/p>\n<p>14.\tThe Guardian. \u201cJesuits Pledge $100 Million for Descendants of Enslaved People.\u201d The Guardian, March 16, 2021.  Guardian reparations article <\/p>\n<p>15.\tThe Guardian. \u201cGeorgetown and the 272 Enslaved People Sold by Jesuits.\u201d The Guardian, August 31, 2023.  Guardian article on The 272 <\/p>\n<p>16.\tWikipedia contributors. \u201c1838 Jesuit Slave Sale.\u201d Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed May 25, 2026.  1838 Jesuit Slave Sale article <\/p>\n<p>17.\tWikipedia contributors. \u201cAntoine Lavalette.\u201d Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed May 25, 2026.  Antoine Lavalette article <\/p>\n<p>18.\tWikipedia contributors. \u201cCatholic Church and Slavery.\u201d Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed May 25, 2026.  Catholic Church and slavery article<\/p>\n<p>19.\tWikipedia contributors. \u201cJesuits.\u201d Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed May 25, 2026.  Jesuits article<\/p>\n<p>This is a public episode. If you&#8217;d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&amp;utm_campaign=CTA_2\">vanessariley.substack.com\/subscribe<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"vanes-2521425182\" class=\"vanes-after-content vanes-entity-placement\" style=\"margin-top: 3px;margin-right: 3px;margin-bottom: 3px;margin-left: 3px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?fit=1080%2C1350&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Listen to the Write of Passage Weekly Podcast\"  srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?w=1080&ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=240%2C300&ssl=1 240w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=819%2C1024&ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SubstackAd.png?resize=768%2C960&ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" width=\"540\" height=\"675\"   \/><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While criminals get rich, a holy man said sorry. &#8211; The pope apologized for the Catholic Church\u2019s role in slavery. Five hundred and seventy-four years after popes authorized the enslavement of Africans, the Vatican finally admits its complicity. So I\u2019m asking. What does an apology mean when violent offenders and felons get reparations? I\u2019m thinking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6320,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[81,793,9,620,756,694],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-personal-stories","category-politics","category-recommended-reading","category-syndication","category-technology","category-tv-and-film"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/61fd9ffa4879dbec3608757aff39c862.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6319"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6319\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanessariley.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}