Is slavery immoral?

[Extra ecclesiam nulla salus]

I only read the first letter. but this is what i got out of it:

[quote]it is true, exhorted the slaves themselves to obey their masters, according to the flesh, as though obeying Christ, and sincerely to accomplish the Will of God; but they ordered the masters to act well towards slaves, to give them what was just and equitable, and to abstain from menaces, knowing that the common Master both of themselves and of the slaves is in Heaven, and that with Him there is no distinction of persons.[/quote]

the Pope never said slavery was intrinsically evil, or anything like that. But He said it was bad because of how masters treated their slaves. im not suggesting Slavery, and am quite glad it is now over and would expect the Holy See to fight against this cruel form of slavery, but to say that all slavery "denies human dignity" is just stupid, especially when the bible says for slaves to remain slaves, and for slaves to obey their masters.s

[goldenchild17]

Far as I know the Church doesn't say it is intrinsically evil. However I would suggest reading the rest of those letters as they take a far stronger stance against it than you do.

[photosynthesis]

My heart belongs to Our Lady, and I am her slave according to the Total Consecration. I endorse this type of 'holy slavery,' because Jesus (through Mary) provides for our every need and he is the Master of us all.

That being said, we humans are imperfect. We sin, we stray from God's path and without His grace we can do nothing. But at the same time, some people are given authority and power, and some are not. For example, I am a woman and I think it is fitting to submit to my husband when I get married. However, he is also held to a high standard and is supposed to make all his decisions with my best interest at heart. I'm also a layperson, therefore I do not rely on my own understanding, but defer to the authority that God has put on this earth to guide His people.

Authority exists for a reason, and an imbalance of power is not necessarily a bad thing. However, power must always be exercised with responsibility. I don't really know anything about the slavery that existed in Biblical times, but I know that at times the social conventions have changed, and slavery isn't necessarily always the way it was in 18th century America. At times, it has been downright cushy.

If a master puts the welfare of ALL members of a household (including slaves) before his own, then that is a good thing. And if a slave obeys his master, even when it is difficult, that is also a good thing. Our society could use a healthy dose of obedience and meekness.

In the end, we are all servants of God, whether or not we are in positions of leadership or lowliness.