Pope Leo XIV will present this Monday (25) his first encyclical, a document considered one of the most important forms of teaching in the Catholic Church.
Entitled “Magnifica Humanitas” (“Magnificent Humanity”), the text should address , with criticism of the use of technology in wars and concerns about workers’ rights.
Encyclicals are one of the highest forms of teaching from a pontiff to the Church’s 1.4 billion faithful.
“A pope’s first encyclical usually outlines his priorities, focusing on what he considers serious social and moral issues for the modern world,” said John Thavis, a retired Vatican correspondent who covered three papacies.
According to the Vatican, the text will address the “protection of the human person in the era of artificial intelligence”. The document was formally signed by the pontiff on May 15, the 135th anniversary of an encyclical by Pope Leo XIII, which called for better wages and working conditions for workers.
The encyclical will be presented by the Pope himself at an event in the Vatican, a break from tradition, as the task is normally handled by cardinals and spokespeople for the Holy See.
In recent weeks, the pope has intensified criticism of the use of artificial intelligence in military scenarios. In a recent speech at a European university, he cited the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon and Iran as examples of an “inhumane evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies into a spiral of annihilation.”
The pontiff has also been adopting a critical tone in relation to global political conduct. He recently angered the President of the United States, Donald Trump, by condemning the war involving the USA, Israel and Iran.
The event will be attended by Chris Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company known for defending limits and safeguards for the military use of technology.
Anthropic has run afoul of the Trump administration, notably by insisting on restrictions that limit how its models can be used for military purposes, such as autonomous weapons targeting or domestic surveillance.
The new encyclical follows the last document of its kind published by Pope Francis, in October 2024, in which Catholics were instructed to abandon the “unbridled search” for money and strengthen their faith in the face of inequalities in the global economic system.
(With information from Joshua McElwee of Reuters)
