Since colonial times, slavery has been a part of the history of the American Catholic Church. Colonial parishes included enslaved people and slaveholders among their congregants, and priests held many people in bondage to finance their missionary work. The nation’s independence and the establishment of its first diocese in 1789 did not change that. Church

Since colonial times, slavery has been a part of the history of the American Catholic Church. Colonial parishes included enslaved people and slaveholders among their congregants, and priests held many people in bondage to finance their missionary work. The nation’s independence and the establishment of its first diocese in 1789 did not change that. Church