Slavery

[rein_me_in_Lord]

First of all, the pope’s pronouncements do not change what’s in the Bible and what Jesus said, which is what this thread is primarily about. Second of all, all this passage shows is that there was once a specific group that the pope did not think should be enslaved. He does not say that slavery is a moral abomination and should be abolished. Instead, he seems primarily concerned about the enslavement of Christians or those who wanted to become Christians.

Although the current pope does not support slavery, popes in the 1400’s actually supported slavery in cases where Christians were not being enslaved. Consider the papal bull Romanus Pontifex:

Here’s what happened historically:

70
Titus besieges and sacks Jerusalem and destroys the Temple on Tisha B’Av. Sanhedrin relocated to Yavne, see also Council of Jamnia.
132-135
Hadrian crushes Bar Kokhba’s revolt, reestablishes Jerusalem as the Roman pagan polis Aelia Capitolina, and forbids Jewish presence.
325
Jerusalem receives special recognition in Canon VII of the First Council of Nicaea[1].
361-363
Tolerant to other faiths, pagan Emperor Julian the Apostate announces to the Jews that they are allowed to return to “holy Jerusalem which you have for many years longed to see rebuilt”.
390s
Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built.
614
Jerusalem falls to Persians led by General Shahrbaraz. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is burned and the True Cross is captured. “Ever since the Persian occupation, … the Jews had resumed worship on the (Temple Mount) platform …” (K. Armstrong: p. 229)
629 March 21
Byzantine Emperor Heraclius retakes Jerusalem.
638
Muslim Arabs under the leadership of Caliph Umar conquer Jerusalem from Christian Byzantine Empire.
687-691
The Dome of the Rock mosque is built by Caliph Abd al-Malik.
692
Orthodox Council in Trullo formally makes Jerusalem one of the Pentarchy (disputed by Roman Catholicism).
715
The Ummayads build Masjid al-Aqsa.
750
The Abbasids take the city.
878
the Tulunids take the city.
904
The Abbasids retake the city.
939
The Ikhshidid take the city.
969
The Fatimid take the city by General Gawhar Al-Siqilli.
1009
Caliph Hakim orders destruction of churches and synagogues.
1077
Seljuk Turks conquer Jerusalem.
1098
Fatimid reconquer Jerusalem.
1099
First Crusaders capture Jerusalem and slaughter most of the city’s Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. The Dome of the Rock mosque is converted into a church.
12th century
Jerusalem is visited by Yehuda Halevi (1141), Maimonides (1165), Benjamin of Tudela (1173).
1187
Saladin captures Jerusalem from Crusaders, after Battle of the Horns of Hattin allows Jewish settlement. The Dome of the Rock is converted to the mosque again.
1192
Richard the Lionheart fails to conquer Jerusalem.
1212
300 Rabbis from England and France settle in Jerusalem.
1244
Kharezmian Tatars take the city from the Christians, who will not regain control until 1917[2]
1260
Rule by the Egyptian Mamelukes[3]
1267
Nachmanides goes to Jerusalem and prays at the Western Wall.
1347
The second conquest by the Mamelukes.
1482
The visiting Dominican priest Felix Fabri described Jerusalem as “a collection of all manner of abominations”. As “abominations” he listed Saracens, Greeks, Syrians, Jacobites, Abyssianians, Nestorians, Armenians, Gregorians, Maronites, Turcomans, Bedouins, Assassins, a sect possibly Druzes, Mamelukes, and “the most accursed of all”, Jews. Only the Latin Christians “long with all their hearts for Christian princes to come and subject all the country to the authority of the Church of Rome”.
1517
Sultan Selim of the Ottoman Empire captures Jerusalem.
1535-1538
Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilds walls around Jerusalem.
1541
Muslims seal The Golden Gate to prevent Jewish Messiah’s entrance.
(Reference: Wikipedia)

After Titus leveled Jerusalem Palestine became Christian. The Mohammedans (aka, Saracens) decided in the 7th century that they wanted the real estate for themselves and for “Allah.” So, they slaughtered the inhabitants. Christendom became united in its determination to reclaim what rightfully belonged to Christendom.