I had the opportunity to interview Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, who is the author of the book All Oppression Shall Cease: A History of Slavery, Abolitionism, and the Catholic Church published by Orbis Books. This history, which I feel is either forgotten or purposefully revised or suppressed, is very important. I hope Catholic educators will incorporate Fr. Chris’s book into their curriculum.

Especially important is Chris’s last chapter and the end of the interview when he discusses restitution. What does the Catholic Church, religious orders, institutions that benefited from colonization and slavery owe to the Indigenous people whose land was stolen and people of African descent who were brutally enslaved, their labor stolen, and oppressed for centuries?