Magnifica Humanitas in quotations
Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, signed 15 May 2026 and published 25 May 2026 on the 135th anniversary of Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum. In five chapters it applies the Church’s social doctrine — the dignity of the person, the common good, the universal destination of goods, subsidiarity, solidarity and social justice — to artificial intelligence and the digital transformation of work, communication and war, framing the choice before humanity as Babel or the rebuilt Jerusalem.
Paragraphs cited
Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.
The opening sentence of the encyclical, which states its central alternative.
Technology should not be considered, in itself, as a force antagonistic to humanity.
The document’s refusal of technophobia; technology is a "profoundly human reality".
In practice, however, technology is never neutral, because it takes on the characteristics of those who devise, finance, regulate and use it.
The pivot from "not evil" to "not neutral" — responsibility attaches to people, not tools.
the promotion of the common good can never be separated from respect for the right of peoples to exist, to preserve their own identity and to contribute their unique qualities to the family of nations. Moreover, any attempt or plan to eliminate or subjugate a nation is gravely immoral and therefore unacceptable.
The application of the common good to international politics.
Living out justice in the Church means purifying ecclesial relationships and structures from distortions that give rise to inequality, lack of transparency and abuse of power.
The examen for the Church herself, including listening to victims of abuse.
A more moral AI is not enough if that morality is determined by a few.
The critique of "alignment" without shared ethical deliberation.
To disarm means discrediting the assumption that technical power automatically confers the right to govern. To disarm does not mean rejecting technology, but preventing it from dominating humanity.
The document’s governing image for its AI proposals.
humanity flourishes not despite limitations, but often through them.
The answer to transhumanism and posthumanism: limitation is not a defect to be removed.
the true alternative is not between enthusiasm and fear, but between two paths of development: a progress that serves individuals and peoples, or a progress that subjects them to the mentality of power
The reframing of the debate away from techno-optimism versus techno-panic.
For this reason, we must focus on certain areas in which these transformations have particularly concrete, and at times tragic, consequences. In light of the principles of the Church’s Social Doctrine, the digital transformation invites us to rediscover truth as a common good, to protect the dignity of work and to safeguard freedom against all forms of dependence and commercialization.
Disinformation did not begin with AI, yet today it finds a powerful amplifier in AI. The ability to manipulate content, images and videos exposes people to biased or misleading perspectives. This problem has both cultural and moral dimensions, since the quality of public communication depends directly on social trust and, in turn, shapes it.
At its root lies a deeper and often unrecognized “sickness”: the fact that “modern man is wrongly convinced that he is the sole author of himself, his life and society. This is a presumption that follows from being selfishly closed in upon himself.” Consequently, people believe that they can construct reality, and that whatever best suits their claims corresponds to what is true.
Our first task is neither to demonize nor idolize technological tools, but to utilize them on the basis of a fundamental principle, namely that truth is a common good and not the property of those with power or influence. We must therefore promote an ecology of communication.
Yet vigilance and transparency remain first and foremost a grave responsibility for the Church herself, and we must not wait for others to compel us to confront uncomfortable truths about ourselves.
This is a fundamental issue because every technology shapes those who use it. Educating people about the use of AI, then, involves teaching them to decide when and for what purpose it ought not to be used.