Tribute to Pope Leo XIV

Friends,

I am so grateful for Pope Leo XIV's recent courage, knowledge and grace in speaking truth about the immorality of U.S. military aggressiveness and the dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI). When I read his comments about war last month they came with such relief that I went into spontaneous prayer of deep gratitude that there was finally highly credible, public leadership to counter the administration's belligerency, sanity, and unaccountability. With the Pope’s clarity and leadership I felt less alone and powerless in the face of the serious threats war and AI pose to humanity. So here is Pope Leo XIV, citing as the guiding reference of the Christian Gospel and the historical teaching of the Roman Catholic Church regarding war, explaining the existential threat of war and AI to the planet and the whole of humanity. In contrast to the values of power and profit motivating AI innovation and the perpetuation of war, Pope Leo writes from what I like to call “a force more powerful” which, ironically, is also the humble voice of Christian nonviolence and love. His clarity, conviction and compassion contrasts to the self-serving political and corporate powers and makes the pomposity of Trump and others seem relatively small and even petty by comparison.

I have been particularly interested in how public and emphatic both Pope Francis, and now Pope Leo XIV, are about the evils of war. Aghast is not a word we see or hear very often, but it is the perfect word to describe Pope Leo XIV’s reaction (and mine!) to war: He declares forcefully and apparently often: “I am aghast at war!” War is horrific, he writes, but, worse, if fought with unaccountable and unconscionable machines it becomes easier to impose if there is little or no emotional impact, or thus the concern for regret and remorse on behalf of those who actually execute the machinery of war.  

Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanita (see below), however, is primarily interested in holding the expansion and application of AI accountable. Because of the real or potential power AI holds over the soul and the future of humanity, the Pope is concerned about it being a major threat to our our dignity, our employment, and our mental health, especially that of our children, among other similar threats. In defense of the corporate and administration pressure to expand innovation, the encyclical asks how it is to be regulated and even halted before it is out of human control. One way to offer specific guidance for the future of AI, the Pope invited one of the founders of the leading AI corporation, Anthropic, Christopher Olah, to the public announcement of the encyclical as a means of trying to engage the industry in initiating their own moral sensibility, control and accountability. In support of the Trump administration's touting AI, in contrast to the Pope’s opposition,  VP JD Vance said rather than focusing on deregulation of AI, the Pope should be emphasizing innovation. And that comment frames the gist of the Pope’s concern, the disparity between a culture focused on efficiency and technology, primarily for the benefit the elite and wealthy, and a world committed to serving the common good through the Christian virtues of equality, inclusion, and responsibility to care for the vulnerable and marginalized. To what extent the Pope might agree, I think we can have both a society that honors creativity and entrepreneurial energy which has a well established commitment to public care and service, which I want to believe, in the past, has been the practice of the more honorable American social systems, under the New Deal policies since the 1930’s at least.. The term that characterizes this form of government is called Democratic Socialism, and I want to believe that is the direction the Pope’s social policy will be exploring and advocating for that in the future. 

The strong public emergence of an outspoken Pope Leo XIV is a beam of new light, power and hope into an otherwise dark political and morally weakened era. We can continue to expect to follow his example, teaching, and leadership into the foreseeable future. May each of us, and especially our corps of local and national leaders, be challenged and inspired to find their own voice in opposition to war and AI and other threats to our common, God-given sense of human and environmental dignity and worth.

Peace,
Tom
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Few of us may be interested in reading Pope Leo XIV’s full Magnifica Humanitas encyclical, but the  15 Quotes below provide some highlights from the full text provided by the Vatican news service.

EWTN News Staff Vatican May 25, 2026Pope Leo XIV just released his first encyclical — and it may be the most important Church document of our lifetime. Called Magnifica Humanitas, it covers artificial intelligence, human dignity, childrenʼs phones, autonomous weapons, doomscrolling, the mystery of the human soul, and why no machine will ever have the final word on what it means to be a person made in the image of God.
The full document is available to download here — and worth a read. But for a quick taste of whatʼs inside, here are 15 powerful quotes from the encyclical:
“Never has humanity had such power over itself.” (par. 4)
"In practice, however, technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it. Therefore, the primary choice is not between a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to technology, but rather between constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem; between a power that claims to dominate the heavens and a people who work together in the presence of God to rebuild the walls of fraternal coexistence.” (par. 9)
“In the era of artificial intelligence, when human dignity is threatened by new forms of dehumanization, ours is the pressing duty to remain profoundly human. We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendor of which no machine can ever replace.” (par. 15)
“Thus, the ‘rejected stones’ — the poor, the sick, the migrants and the least among us — will become the cornerstone, and a solid, welcoming common home will emerge on the earth, where love and faithfulness will finally meet, and righteousness and peace will embrace (cf. Ps 85:10).” (par.16)
“Human dignity does not depend on a person’s abilities, wealth, or position in life, nor on the right or wrong choices made; instead, it is a gift that precedes and transcends each person, endowed by God as an expression of his unfailing love.” (par. 50)
“Among these ideologies, I consider particularly insidious the one that suggests that every person must earn or justify his or her own worth, to the point of attributing greater value to those who are more efficient or effective.” (par. 51)
“No sin, failure, humiliation, or exclusion can diminish the profound value of a human life that God has willed and called into being.” (par. 52)
“Solidarity demands that decisions regarding data, algorithms, platforms and artificial intelligence take into account not only the immediate benefit for a few, but also the impact on all peoples and on future generations.” (par. 76)
“For an algorithm, an error is a flaw to be corrected; for a person, however, an error can be a catalyst for profound change. A person’s future is not calculable, but depends on one’s freedom — elevated by the inexhaustible grace of God — and on the relationships cultivated.” (par. 128)
“Having a personal mobile device at too early an age and using it without adult supervision can exacerbate young people’s vulnerabilities, foster addiction, and expose them to isolation, bullying, and cyberbullying, as well as to pressures to share intimate images or sensitive information.” (par. 141)
“Even in the darkest nights, the Lord raises up men and women who refuse to give up, who persevere in doing good, who protect the vulnerable and open pathways to reconciliation. The memory of the saints, righteous people, and the oft-forgotten peacemakers, show us that grace does not magically eliminate conflict, but instead it inspires active resistance to evil and an astonishing creativity in doing good.” (par. 211)
“The civilization of love will not arise from a single or spectacular gesture, but from the sum total of small and steadfast acts of fidelity that serve as a bulwark against dehumanization.” (par. 213)
“‘Let us disarm words and we will help to disarm the world.’ Words have enormous power, something we experience in our daily interactions; for example, spoken words can change our mood for better or for worse." (par. 214)
“No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil. Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history. This human face is the fullness toward which history is moving.” (par. 233)
“Let us remain faithful to the truth! Living amid incessant flows of information, opinions and images, we know how easy it can be to influence decisions and preferences through increasingly sophisticated algorithms. In this context, it is imperative to cultivate hearts that love the truth, prefer what is right despite the most appealing content and pursue wisdom rather than immediate results.” (par. 237)