Month: July 2025

Inside the Vatican: Praying with Our Feet
A Personal Account of African Reparatory Justice

Toward Freedom Editor July 24, 2025 Toward Freedom Editor
A bust of Antonio Negrita, who was the predecessor of Lourenço da Silva Mendouça and a cousin of Álvaro II, King of Kongo (1587-1614). In 1602, King Álvaro II sent Negrita as an ambassador to the Vatican to advocate for the freedom of the Kongolese people and for West Central Africa as a whole.

By Kim Poole | Founder, Teaching Artist Institute

When I stepped through the gates of the Pontifical Urbaniana University this past May, I carried more doubt than certainty in my bag.  For three days, during African Liberation Weekend, I watched a global circle of scholars, seminarians, artists, prophets, priests, and everyday people do something rarely done within these ancient Vatican halls; we told the truth out loud about Reparatory Justice for Africa and the African Diaspora.  We demanded that the Church help deliver it. read more