How the U.S. Catholic Church Profited from Slavery

August 29, 2023

In this Q&A, Rachel Swarns recounts how she got started on her book, The 272,  how she grappled with her findings as a Black Catholic and how foundational the institution of slavery was to the Catholic Church in this country.

“Priests who relied on slavery built the first archdiocese; Georgetown, the first Catholic institution of higher learning; and the first cathedral. Priests who operated a plantation and sold people built the first Catholic seminary. Enslaved people have been largely left out of the origin story that’s traditionally told about the Catholic Church, but they were foundational to the emergence of the Church.”

U.S. Catholic Magazine, August 2023.

Read Full Article