THE POPE'S FIRST

 

Sunday is Pentecost, but many do not know of the feast that follows, which is dedicated to MARY MOTHER of the CHURCH. On this day the Vatican releases Pope Leo’s first encyclical, “MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS: (Magnificent Humanity): On the Protection of Human Dignity in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”  

This year marks the publication of the social encyclical “Rerum Novarum  by Pope Leo XIII in 1891. Rerum Novarum, discussed the needs of the working class amid the industrial revolution. The text by-passed both socialism and unrestrained market power, opting for cooperation between competing interests that is centered on the dignity of the human person.

Pope Leo XIV indicated at the beginning of his pontificate that he intended to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Leo XIII by responding to todayʼs industrial revolution: “developments in the field of artificial intelligence.”

“In our own day,” he continued, “the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”

Time Magazine included Pope Leo XIV in its 2025 list of the “World’s Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence” , praising the pontiff’s focus on the ethical concerns related to the emerging technology.

The magazine listed the top 100 fluential people in artificial intelligence (AI) in four categories: Leaders, Innovators, Shapers, and Thinkers. Leo XIV is among the 25 most influential thinkers in the field, according to Time.

In a profile included in the magazine, Time technology correspondent Andrew Chow noted that Leo XIV chose his papal name, in part, based on the need for the Church to address ethical matters related to AI and wrote that the Holy Father is “already making good on his vow.”