Encyclical: What Pope Leo thinks about just war theory, historic Church apology for slavery
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Pope Leo's new encyclical puts Just War Theory and the Church's moral authority on a collision course — testing how institutions reconcile historic guilt with present-day ethics.
Just War TheoryInstitutional Moral ResponsibilitySocial Contract TheoryRestorative Justice
Theory Briefing
- Pope Leo's encyclical revisits Just War Theory, laying out conditions under which violence can be morally sanctioned by the Church.
- The document includes a historic Church apology for its role in slavery, forcing a reckoning with institutional moral responsibility across centuries.
- These twin stances illustrate how religious authority navigates moral philosophy — balancing the ethics of harm with the duty to acknowledge past wrongs.