What is the Catholic church's position on slavery?

Answer 1

It is sorry to note at the time when the whole issue of the Abolition of slavery flooded the battlefields of North and South ( US Civil War) the Papacy maintained a grim silence. No Encycllicals were issued on the morality of the Slave trade in any form. it is understood the practice existed in Biblical times ( so did Gamblling) and The Bible does not distinctly condemn the practice, though the Jews were supposed to manumit ( in effect emancipate) their personal slaves ( probably war captives) after seven years. in modern times- I.e. the Civil War there was a curious silence that lended consent- there were Confederate Catholic chaplains in the CSA and CSN. There was some Vatican activity to end slavery in Brazil- as late as l888-l889, taking the latter date- this is, incredibly, ten years after the advent of Con Ed , then known as Edison Lamp Works ( l879) see the light!

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There were a number of actions taken against slavery by the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, at the beginning of the Renaissance, the Church took the position that it was legitimate to enslave people who were not Christian, but these decisions seem to have been reversed rather quickly.

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Answer 2

Throughout their history, the Jesuits have always been opposed to slavery. In fact, in the 18th Century, the order was suppressed by Rome because of false accusations made by Spanish and Portugese aristocrats who were tired of the Jesuits' petitions for human rights interfering in their New World profits.