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Pope Leo XIV’s visit to an African church linked to slavery reflects on his own complex heritage
The visit highlights Angola’s slavery legacy and Vatican themes of corruption, authoritarianism and inequality as Leo seeks closer ties with African Catholics.
- On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV will visit the Church of Our Lady of Muxima in Angola during his 11-day pastoral tour of Africa, marking a symbolic moment at a historic shrine tied to the slave trade.
- Built by Portuguese colonizers centuries ago, the site became a hub where enslaved Africans were baptized before walking 90 miles to Luanda for transport, embodying the link between Catholicism and the slave trade.
- Rev. Celestino Epalanga, a priest with the Catholic Bishops Conference of Angola, said the Pope's prayer will "give that place a new significance," aiming to transform the site from a "place of evil" into a sacred space.
- Opposition lawmaker Olivio Nkilumbo praised the Catholic Church for fighting poverty but noted Angola lacks democracy, urging the Pope to be a "pilgrim for peace" while delivering a "forceful message calling for social justice.
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Pope Leo XIV's visit to an African church linked to slavery reflects on his own complex heritage
The pope’s planned visit to a Catholic chapel in Angola that was connected to the slave trade is seen as a symbolic moment by some Africans.
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A country-by-country glance at Pope Leo XIV's trip to Africa
Pope Leo XIV’s trip to Africa is so dizzying in its complexity it recalls some of the early globe-trotting odysseys of St. John Paul II. Themes Leo is expected to raise include Christian-Muslim coexistence, the exploitation of the continent's natural…
On the occasion of Pope Leo XIV's journey to four African countries (Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea), La Croix presents, in a non-exhaustive manner, five influential Christian theologians from the African continent.
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Total News Sources50
Leaning Left9Leaning Right1Center35Last UpdatedBias Distribution78% Center
Bias Distribution
- 78% of the sources are Center
78% Center
L 20%
C 78%
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