rules

Pope Leo unveils his encyclical: AI has ‘even greater consequences’ than Industrial Revolution #Catholic VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Monday personally attended the presentation of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, in an uncustomary gesture. Upon his arrival at the event, held in the Vaticanʼs Synod Hall, he was greeted with sustained applause from an audience made up of members of the Roman Curia, representatives of academia, and the diplomatic corps.Among the speakers was Canadian Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, one of the leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies. The firm has recently had tensions with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump after prohibiting the U.S. Department of Defense from using its software for military purposes.Some observers had raised concerns about including a representative of a major tech company like Anthropic in an event of this kind. The Holy Father himself dispelled any hesitation by thanking Olah for his presence: “What a great sign of hope it is that with our differences we can listen to one another,” he said in his remarks.“This interchange clearly bespeaks the gravity of the moment, as well as confidence that together we can discern the major questions of our time, and so the future of humanity,” he added.In his remarks prior to the pope’s address, Olah echoed the same idea: "That is why, if we want this technology to go well, it is enormously important that there be people outside those incentives — people who care about things going well and insist on safety, who are paying close attention, who are willing to say hard things, who are willing to be our earnest, thoughtful, critics. It is through dialogue and mutual effort, through the push and pull, that humanity will achieve great things. That is what I see in Magnifica Humanitas, and it is why I am grateful to His Holiness and the Church for taking up this work of discernment.” Christopher Olah, co-founder of AI company Anthropic, says he is grateful to Pope Leo XIV and the Church for “taking up this work of discernment” on artificial intelligence, during his address at the presentation of the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on May 25, 2026, in the Synod Hall of the Vatican. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Olah, who is not a believer, also issued a call to various sectors — religious communities, civil society, academics, and governments — to follow the pope’s example with this document: “to take this seriously, to look closely, and to push events in a better direction. We need informed critics who will tell the labs when we are failing. We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend.”It is no coincidence that Leo XIV signed his first encyclical on May 15, the same date on which his predecessor Leo XIII promulgated Rerum Novarum (“On New Things”) in 1891 in response to the dehumanization brought about by the Industrial Revolution. As the pope explained, the world today faces a transformation of perhaps even greater scope.“Today we find ourselves facing a transformation of similar magnitude, with perhaps even greater consequences. Artificial intelligence already touches many areas of our lives and affects decisions that shape human coexistence,” he said.The pope expressed particular concern about the impact of new technologies on the conduct of war, which, he warned, is changing dramatically.“Like the earlier Leo, I feel entrusted to look upon another huge transformation with eyes of faith, with lucidity of reason, with openness to mystery, and with cries of the poor and the earth resounding in my heart,” he said.The Holy Father also described the method behind the drafting of this magisterial document, which began in July 2025 at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. In it, he seeks to reaffirm what makes us human in a society shaped by technology.He emphasized that Magnifica Humanitas was born from listening: “I have listened to scientists and engineers who work with sincere enthusiasm on technologies capable of alleviating immense suffering, to political leaders and public officials who have perseveringly sought just rules, to parents and teachers who are deeply concerned for the future of younger generations,” he said, without naming individuals.At the same time, he acknowledged hearing “Other very troubling voices have also reached me about increasingly autonomous weapons systems practically beyond any human reach to govern them effectively.”“I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment, and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice. And Iʼve heard the silence of those who have no voice when decisions are made — decisions likely to generate new forms of exclusion and suffering,” he lamented.In line with the document — which states that artificial intelligence is not morally neutral — the pope called for AI to be “disarmed.”“The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity,” he warned.“The Church has long been working for nuclear disarmament, aware that every great technical power can affect peopleʼs lives, and so must be accompanied by adequate moral discernment and public control. Nuclear disarmament remains a service to peace and the dignity of the human family,” he added.Also speaking at the presentation were three cardinals of the Roman Curia: Secretary of State Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.Two theologians also took the floor: Anna Rowlands, a specialist in Catholic social teaching and migration ethics at Durham University, and Leocadie Lushombo, an expert in political theology and Catholic social thought at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in California.This story was originally published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish-language news service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
Read More

Pope Leo unveils his encyclical: AI has ‘even greater consequences’ than Industrial Revolution #Catholic VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV on Monday personally attended the presentation of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, in an uncustomary gesture. Upon his arrival at the event, held in the Vaticanʼs Synod Hall, he was greeted with sustained applause from an audience made up of members of the Roman Curia, representatives of academia, and the diplomatic corps.Among the speakers was Canadian Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic, one of the leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies. The firm has recently had tensions with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump after prohibiting the U.S. Department of Defense from using its software for military purposes.Some observers had raised concerns about including a representative of a major tech company like Anthropic in an event of this kind. The Holy Father himself dispelled any hesitation by thanking Olah for his presence: “What a great sign of hope it is that with our differences we can listen to one another,” he said in his remarks.“This interchange clearly bespeaks the gravity of the moment, as well as confidence that together we can discern the major questions of our time, and so the future of humanity,” he added.In his remarks prior to the pope’s address, Olah echoed the same idea: "That is why, if we want this technology to go well, it is enormously important that there be people outside those incentives — people who care about things going well and insist on safety, who are paying close attention, who are willing to say hard things, who are willing to be our earnest, thoughtful, critics. It is through dialogue and mutual effort, through the push and pull, that humanity will achieve great things. That is what I see in Magnifica Humanitas, and it is why I am grateful to His Holiness and the Church for taking up this work of discernment.” Christopher Olah, co-founder of AI company Anthropic, says he is grateful to Pope Leo XIV and the Church for “taking up this work of discernment” on artificial intelligence, during his address at the presentation of the encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on May 25, 2026, in the Synod Hall of the Vatican. | Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News/Vatican Pool Olah, who is not a believer, also issued a call to various sectors — religious communities, civil society, academics, and governments — to follow the pope’s example with this document: “to take this seriously, to look closely, and to push events in a better direction. We need informed critics who will tell the labs when we are failing. We need moral voices that the incentives cannot bend.”It is no coincidence that Leo XIV signed his first encyclical on May 15, the same date on which his predecessor Leo XIII promulgated Rerum Novarum (“On New Things”) in 1891 in response to the dehumanization brought about by the Industrial Revolution. As the pope explained, the world today faces a transformation of perhaps even greater scope.“Today we find ourselves facing a transformation of similar magnitude, with perhaps even greater consequences. Artificial intelligence already touches many areas of our lives and affects decisions that shape human coexistence,” he said.The pope expressed particular concern about the impact of new technologies on the conduct of war, which, he warned, is changing dramatically.“Like the earlier Leo, I feel entrusted to look upon another huge transformation with eyes of faith, with lucidity of reason, with openness to mystery, and with cries of the poor and the earth resounding in my heart,” he said.The Holy Father also described the method behind the drafting of this magisterial document, which began in July 2025 at the papal residence in Castel Gandolfo. In it, he seeks to reaffirm what makes us human in a society shaped by technology.He emphasized that Magnifica Humanitas was born from listening: “I have listened to scientists and engineers who work with sincere enthusiasm on technologies capable of alleviating immense suffering, to political leaders and public officials who have perseveringly sought just rules, to parents and teachers who are deeply concerned for the future of younger generations,” he said, without naming individuals.At the same time, he acknowledged hearing “Other very troubling voices have also reached me about increasingly autonomous weapons systems practically beyond any human reach to govern them effectively.”“I hear very troubling accounts of algorithms that can block access to healthcare, employment, and security on the basis of data tainted by prejudice and injustice. And Iʼve heard the silence of those who have no voice when decisions are made — decisions likely to generate new forms of exclusion and suffering,” he lamented.In line with the document — which states that artificial intelligence is not morally neutral — the pope called for AI to be “disarmed.”“The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, awakening consciences, and indicating paths forward for humanity,” he warned.“The Church has long been working for nuclear disarmament, aware that every great technical power can affect peopleʼs lives, and so must be accompanied by adequate moral discernment and public control. Nuclear disarmament remains a service to peace and the dignity of the human family,” he added.Also speaking at the presentation were three cardinals of the Roman Curia: Secretary of State Pietro Parolin; Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.Two theologians also took the floor: Anna Rowlands, a specialist in Catholic social teaching and migration ethics at Durham University, and Leocadie Lushombo, an expert in political theology and Catholic social thought at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in California.This story was originally published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News' Spanish-language news service. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

unitedyam

The pope thanked Anthropic co-founder Christopher Olah for his presence at the presentation: “What a great sign of hope it is that with our differences we can listen to one another.”

Read More
German Catholic congress approves bondage group’s booth #Catholic An ecumenical working group promoting “consensual BDSM culture” will again exhibit at Germanyʼs Catholic Congress in Würzburg this week after organizers said its guidelines pose “no contradiction with the Catechism.”BDSM is an acronym that stands for “bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.”“The Ecumenical Working Group BDSM and Christianity has been represented on the Kirchenmeile at several Catholic Congresses now,” Cosima Jagow-Duda, head of press and marketing at the Catholic Congress, told CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, in response to an inquiry.“All organizations with an explicitly Christian reference have this right in principle, provided they are not unconstitutional or hostile to specific groups.” The groupʼs guidelines, she added, contain “no contradiction with the Catechism.”The working group was founded in 1999, according to its own website. It also exhibited at the previous Catholic Congress in Erfurt in 2024.Organized by the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), the German Catholic Congress (Katholikentag) is a biennial gathering led by laypeople and representing the countryʼs main umbrella organization for lay Catholic associations. The 104th edition is taking place from May 13 to 17 in Würzburg under the motto “Have Courage, Stand Up!” Around 20,000 people are expected to attend the event, which features approximately 900 events across 50 venues.The approved booth is listed in the official program as stand number MW-R-07 on the Kirchenmeile — a German term meaning “Church Mile” — an exhibitor area where approximately 300 organizations present themselves to attendees.‘Out of the taboo corner’On its website, the working group describes itself as “Christians from various denominations who deal with eroticism and sexuality, particularly in the area of sadomasochistic sexual preferences.”Its published guidelines open with a “preamble on the relationship with God,” affirm belief in “the love and salvation through Jesus Christ,” and state that the group “accepts and lives the diverse and consensual BDSM culture.” The group has also said it wants to take the topic “out of the taboo corner.”Jagow-Duda told CNA Deutsch that applications for the Kirchenmeile “follow clear rules and guidelines” and that the organizers do not admit, for example, “right-wing extremist or anti-democratic groups.”The printed program book states, on page 58, that “a diversity of opinions that encourages and enriches discourse on the cohesion of society is expressly desired,” with limits “where discriminatory, racist, or antisemitic convictions are represented, expressions of group-related misanthropy, or an ideological distance from the free democratic constitutional order are to be expected.”“This concerns a booth where Christians are entering into conversation about their faith,” Jagow-Duda said.Other groups presenting on the Kirchenmeile whose positions stand in tension with Catholic teaching on sexuality include the Network of Catholic Lesbians, the LGBT initiative #OutInChurch, and the Ecumenical Working Group Homosexuals and Church.The official program also lists a “Queer worship service” on May 16 under the title “Life is colorful — diversity in the Church?!” and a Bible workshop titled “Reading the Bible queerly. Why G*D is a fan of diversity.”Pro-life panels rejected, association still presentThe eventʼs panel program, meanwhile, turned down three proposals on surrogacy, abortion, and end-of-life care from the countryʼs largest lay pro-life association, citing limited slots, even as the association maintains its own booth at the congress.The proposals were submitted by the Action for the Right to Life for All (ALfA) in cooperation with the Association of Catholic German Teachers (VkdL).The proposals' titles, according to the Catholic weekly Die Tagespost, were “Life Without a Child? Is Surrogacy the Solution on the Way to a Wished-For Child?”, “Taboo Topic Abortion — ‘I didnʼt want to abort, I had to,’” and “My Death and My Dignity — Autonomy and Human Dignity at the End of Life.”Britta Baas, a spokeswoman for the ZdK, told Die Tagespost that the rejections were made on “capacity grounds.” Two-thirds of all applications had to be turned down because only 40 panel slots were available, she said.The Catholic Congress leadership had set up a so-called “topic convention” before the nationwide call for proposals opened, which pre-selected the 40 panel themes. About three times as many applications were submitted as there were slots, Baas said, and “the panel working group commissioned by the Catholic Congress leadership then had to make a selection.”According to Die Tagespost, ALfA and VkdL had already secured several speakers for the proposed panels, including psychiatrist Christian Spaemann, surgeon and medical ethicist Kai Witzel, and the jurist Felix Böllmann of Alliance Defending Freedom International.The Catholic Congress will, however, host one panel on assisted suicide, titled “Quo Vadis Assisted Suicide? General Regulations and Individual Wishes,” with Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentarian Lars Castellucci and the president of the German Caritas Association, Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, among the discussants.ALfA itself will be present at the Catholic Congress with a booth on the Kirchenmeile, located in the “Social Cohesion” theme area. In parallel to the official program, the association is holding its own events in cooperation with the VkdL and Die Tagespost, including a lecture on end-of-life autonomy by Witzel, a presentation on international surrogacy by ALfA national chair Cornelia Kaminski, and a panel discussion with Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg on the relationship between the Catholic Church and the German pro-life movement.“The commitment to the protection of human life belongs at the heart of the Church,” Kaminski said in a May 8 statement. “The Catholic Congress is therefore an important place to enter into conversation with people, to present our work, and to make clear how many areas there are in which the right to life and human dignity are under threat — and how needed Church members are who commit themselves to this cause.”Catholic teaching on sexualityThe Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that sexual pleasure “is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes” (No. 2351).Chastity, the Catechism teaches, “involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift” and is realized in “the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman” (No. 2337). It requires what the Catechism calls “an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom” (No. 2339).Consent does not, in Catholic moral theology, automatically change the moral character of an act.
Read More

German Catholic congress approves bondage group’s booth #Catholic An ecumenical working group promoting “consensual BDSM culture” will again exhibit at Germanyʼs Catholic Congress in Würzburg this week after organizers said its guidelines pose “no contradiction with the Catechism.”BDSM is an acronym that stands for “bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.”“The Ecumenical Working Group BDSM and Christianity has been represented on the Kirchenmeile at several Catholic Congresses now,” Cosima Jagow-Duda, head of press and marketing at the Catholic Congress, told CNA Deutsch, the German-language sister service of EWTN News, in response to an inquiry.“All organizations with an explicitly Christian reference have this right in principle, provided they are not unconstitutional or hostile to specific groups.” The groupʼs guidelines, she added, contain “no contradiction with the Catechism.”The working group was founded in 1999, according to its own website. It also exhibited at the previous Catholic Congress in Erfurt in 2024.Organized by the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), the German Catholic Congress (Katholikentag) is a biennial gathering led by laypeople and representing the countryʼs main umbrella organization for lay Catholic associations. The 104th edition is taking place from May 13 to 17 in Würzburg under the motto “Have Courage, Stand Up!” Around 20,000 people are expected to attend the event, which features approximately 900 events across 50 venues.The approved booth is listed in the official program as stand number MW-R-07 on the Kirchenmeile — a German term meaning “Church Mile” — an exhibitor area where approximately 300 organizations present themselves to attendees.‘Out of the taboo corner’On its website, the working group describes itself as “Christians from various denominations who deal with eroticism and sexuality, particularly in the area of sadomasochistic sexual preferences.”Its published guidelines open with a “preamble on the relationship with God,” affirm belief in “the love and salvation through Jesus Christ,” and state that the group “accepts and lives the diverse and consensual BDSM culture.” The group has also said it wants to take the topic “out of the taboo corner.”Jagow-Duda told CNA Deutsch that applications for the Kirchenmeile “follow clear rules and guidelines” and that the organizers do not admit, for example, “right-wing extremist or anti-democratic groups.”The printed program book states, on page 58, that “a diversity of opinions that encourages and enriches discourse on the cohesion of society is expressly desired,” with limits “where discriminatory, racist, or antisemitic convictions are represented, expressions of group-related misanthropy, or an ideological distance from the free democratic constitutional order are to be expected.”“This concerns a booth where Christians are entering into conversation about their faith,” Jagow-Duda said.Other groups presenting on the Kirchenmeile whose positions stand in tension with Catholic teaching on sexuality include the Network of Catholic Lesbians, the LGBT initiative #OutInChurch, and the Ecumenical Working Group Homosexuals and Church.The official program also lists a “Queer worship service” on May 16 under the title “Life is colorful — diversity in the Church?!” and a Bible workshop titled “Reading the Bible queerly. Why G*D is a fan of diversity.”Pro-life panels rejected, association still presentThe eventʼs panel program, meanwhile, turned down three proposals on surrogacy, abortion, and end-of-life care from the countryʼs largest lay pro-life association, citing limited slots, even as the association maintains its own booth at the congress.The proposals were submitted by the Action for the Right to Life for All (ALfA) in cooperation with the Association of Catholic German Teachers (VkdL).The proposals' titles, according to the Catholic weekly Die Tagespost, were “Life Without a Child? Is Surrogacy the Solution on the Way to a Wished-For Child?”, “Taboo Topic Abortion — ‘I didnʼt want to abort, I had to,’” and “My Death and My Dignity — Autonomy and Human Dignity at the End of Life.”Britta Baas, a spokeswoman for the ZdK, told Die Tagespost that the rejections were made on “capacity grounds.” Two-thirds of all applications had to be turned down because only 40 panel slots were available, she said.The Catholic Congress leadership had set up a so-called “topic convention” before the nationwide call for proposals opened, which pre-selected the 40 panel themes. About three times as many applications were submitted as there were slots, Baas said, and “the panel working group commissioned by the Catholic Congress leadership then had to make a selection.”According to Die Tagespost, ALfA and VkdL had already secured several speakers for the proposed panels, including psychiatrist Christian Spaemann, surgeon and medical ethicist Kai Witzel, and the jurist Felix Böllmann of Alliance Defending Freedom International.The Catholic Congress will, however, host one panel on assisted suicide, titled “Quo Vadis Assisted Suicide? General Regulations and Individual Wishes,” with Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentarian Lars Castellucci and the president of the German Caritas Association, Eva Maria Welskop-Deffaa, among the discussants.ALfA itself will be present at the Catholic Congress with a booth on the Kirchenmeile, located in the “Social Cohesion” theme area. In parallel to the official program, the association is holding its own events in cooperation with the VkdL and Die Tagespost, including a lecture on end-of-life autonomy by Witzel, a presentation on international surrogacy by ALfA national chair Cornelia Kaminski, and a panel discussion with Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg on the relationship between the Catholic Church and the German pro-life movement.“The commitment to the protection of human life belongs at the heart of the Church,” Kaminski said in a May 8 statement. “The Catholic Congress is therefore an important place to enter into conversation with people, to present our work, and to make clear how many areas there are in which the right to life and human dignity are under threat — and how needed Church members are who commit themselves to this cause.”Catholic teaching on sexualityThe Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that sexual pleasure “is morally disordered when sought for itself, isolated from its procreative and unitive purposes” (No. 2351).Chastity, the Catechism teaches, “involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift” and is realized in “the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman” (No. 2337). It requires what the Catechism calls “an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom” (No. 2339).Consent does not, in Catholic moral theology, automatically change the moral character of an act.

unitedyam

Organizers of the Würzburg congress told EWTN News the group’s guidelines contain ‘no contradiction with the Catechism.’

Read More