Under his leadership, the Vatican also opened a dialogue about the return of colonial-era artifacts that the Vatican Museum acquired from Indigenous civilizations.
“The Seventh Commandment comes to mind: If you steal something you have to give it back,” Francis said during a press conference onboard the papal plane in 2023, as quoted by the Associated Press.
Francis had recently returned to Greece three fragments of the Parthenon sculptures that were held in the Vatican Museums’s collection for two centuries. Pope Francis, in his inaugural public address of the debate, called the restitution “the right gesture” for institutions to make when possible.
“In the case where you can return things, where it’s necessary to make a gesture, better to do it,” he said.
“Sometimes you can’t, if there are no possibilities — political, real or concrete possibilities. But in the cases where you can restitute, please do it. It’s good for everyone, so you don’t get used to putting your hands in someone else’s pockets.”
Although Francis said to supported the restitution of artifacts stolen under colonial violence, the Vatican Museums faced criticism for failing to meet Indigenous repatriation demands).
