'With his encyclical, Leo XIV does not simply proclaim that another world is possible: He calls on us to build that other world'
Pope Leo XIV has released his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, addressing the implications of artificial intelligence. The document, which spans 105 pages, draws on the Church's social doctrine and references numerous past popes. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining human dignity amidst the pressures of modern ideologies and technologies.
- ▪Magnifica humanitas was signed by Pope Leo XIV thirteen months into his pontificate.
- ▪The encyclical contains 105 pages, 250 paragraphs, and 39,000 words, significantly more than Leo XIII's Rerum novarum.
- ▪It includes 63 citations of Pope Francis and addresses the need to control lethal force in the context of AI.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Thirteen months after the start of his pontificate, Leo XIV has signed his first encyclical. This major event takes place amid a heated context and addresses a particularly timely topic: artificial intelligence. Let us examine what in this encyclical is predictable and what, on the contrary, is surprising. Magnifica humanitas contains many expected elements. Pope Prevost signed it on Friday, May 15 – that is, on that same day in 1891 that Leo XIII, in whose footsteps the current pontiff seeks to follow, promulgated his encyclical Rerum novarum, a landmark document that addressed labor issues and the excesses of capitalism. It is also unsurprising that the 2026 encyclical draws on what Pius XII defined in 1950 as the "social doctrine" of the Church.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Le Monde (EN).
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