The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuits, believe they owe an apology to the slaves they sold in the 19th century.
According to The Daily Wire, they and the GU272 Descendants Association have clubbed together to set up the Descendants Truth & Reconciliation Foundation, which will be used to procure $100 million to give in reparations payments to the descendants of the slaves sold by the Jesuit order. Their union was announced on Monday.
The association's website states that they’re “dedicated to preserving the memory, commemorating the lives and restoring the honor of the 272 enslaved people sold by the Jesuits of the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus in 1838, and others before and after them who were sold as well.”
Fr. Tim Kesicki, the president of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States, believes that the Foundation’s actions were fundamental to ending the hatred and inequality that was present in the country.
“Racism will endure in America if we continue to turn our heads away from the truth of the past and how it affects us all today,” he asserted. “The lasting effects of slavery call each of us to do the work of truth and reconciliation. Without this joining of hearts and hands in true unity, the cycle of hatred and inequality in America will never end.”
Georgetown University assisted the Jesuit’s efforts by donating $1 million to “support the planning and assistance necessary to create the framework and structure for the Foundation,” according to a separate article by The Daily Wire.
John J. DeGioia, the university president, believed that this would further connect the school with the descendants of slaves. “We now have the conditions in place for us to accelerate Georgetown’s work on a related effort which will further our community’s engagement with Descendants,” he said.