Today at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV did something no pope has ever done — he personally stood up to present his own encyclical.
Magnifica Humanitas (“Magnificent Humanity”) calls for robust regulation of artificial intelligence and demands that its developers work for the common good rather than profit — addressing everything from AI’s impact on work to its role in modern warfare. It’s the most significant moral statement on AI ever issued by a major world institution.
Leo signed the encyclical on May 15, the 135th anniversary of Rerum Novarum — his namesake Pope Leo XIII’s landmark 1891 document that addressed workers’ rights and the limits of capitalism during the Industrial Revolution. The parallel is intentional and hard to miss: the Church has weighed in on transformational economic disruption before, and it’s doing so again. Just as industrialization reshaped labor and society a century ago, AI is forcing the same existential questions — and the Church wants a seat at that table.
For those of us working in digital, the document goes well beyond the headlines. It takes direct aim at disinformation, algorithmic manipulation, the dignity of workers displaced by automation, and the exploitation of minors online — topics that sit squarely in the overlap of technology ethics and everyday accountability.
The Vatican also invited representatives from the AI industry to the launch, signaling it intends to engage the builders of this technology directly rather than simply critique from the sidelines.
Read the full AP story → AP News
Read the full 83-page encyclical → Magnifica Humanitas — Vatican.va