For several times in the course of his pontificate, Paul Pope II had apologized for past mistakes of the Catholic Church. This is not only remarkable in terms of the Church’s actual policy but has also an impact on the study of the History of the Church in Brazil. One of the problems calling attention under this circumstances is the attitude of Catholicism towards (and its active participation in) Slavery. The article characterizes and evaluates three conceptual frameworks for a discussion of the aforementioned issue: The first is typical for historians committed to the Church who are particularly interested in the “Zeitgeistâ€ as the overall background of concrete history. The second is favored by secular academic historians who consider the Church as one institution among others. Thirdly, there are historians associated with CEHILA (Commission for Historical Studies of the Church in Latin America and Caribe) whose studies show a preference for the interpretation of the Church as an agent for outsiders and their struggle for liberation.