Magnifica humanitas: God and Artificial Intelligence
By
His Excellency,
The Most Reverend Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D., STD
Bishop Emeritus
Diocese of Belleville
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
June 14, 2026, 10:00 AM Mass
Saints Peter & Paul Parish
(This is the text as originally written. During the actual delivery, some passages were omitted and other comments were added spontaneously. Nota bene: This text has not been thoroughly proofread. Therefore, there may be errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.)
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
This morning, Jesus of Nazareth, in Matthew 9, 36 – 10, 8 tells His 12 apostles to go to the Jewish towns and announce, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. Then He instructs them to do four things none of us can do. “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons.” Since we cannot do these remarkable things, the message for us must be that each of us must show Christ’s compassion to all people and care for them, in whatever way we can, as true shepherds.
When His Holiness, Pope Leo XIV was elected to the Chair of Peter a year ago, May 8, 2025, his first words to the entire world were, “Peace be with you!” He later said he hoped that his pontificate could be dedicated to peace by safeguarding humanity, promoting truth, the dignity of work, and social justice in the face of the challenges presented by Artificial Intelligence. He acknowledged that it would be particularly challenging to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand in the face of the world changing impact of the astounding new technology of AI.
Attentive Catholics are not surprised that Pope Leo’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence sets out to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ into direct dialogue with Artificial Intelligence and its potential impact for good or evil on all people everywhere. He writes, “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.” To underscore his concern, the pontiff signed the document on May 15, the 135th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, (On New Things), the landmark encyclical on the impact of the first Industrial Revolution on the poor, on laborers, and the need to safeguard them against developments that could undermine the God given dignity of every human person.
It is well known that the majority of Catholics in America are not inclined to read carefully and pray about what they assume to be a long, complicated, unexciting document from the Vatican. Many may think that Magnifica humanitas is addressed only to the people of Silicon Valley, who may well ignore it. But the ethical, moral, and religious questions raised by the Holy Father are as close as your computer and your teenagers’ cell phones and other electronic devices. Christians must remain human in the age of algorithms. We have the responsibility in the face of Artificial Intelligence of making sure that the world continues to “recognize the human heart as the place where God desires to dwell”.
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In Matthew 9, 37, Jesus tells us, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for His harvest.” We often think of these words as an encouragement to pray and work for vocations to the priesthood so needed in our diocese. However, all of us are called by Baptism to be laborers for the harvest. Much of the work of engaging Artificial Intelligence with the gospel of Jesus Christ will probably be done by lay men and women educated in the appropriate technical fields. It will be your tasks and the tasks of your children and your children’s children, as later day apostles, to cure the sick who become addicted to AI, raise the spiritually dead whose lives are overtaken by AI, and drive out demons if AI devices replace humans in personal relationships.
This is why I urge you to read this remarkable Encyclical by the first Roman Pontiff born in the United States. What sense does it make for so many American Catholics to say how much they admire Pope Leo and then they do not bother to read his serious teachings. Obviously, Magnifica humanitas is NOT a page turner. It does not read like a compelling John Grishim crime novel. It has a moving viewpoint which allows you to select any topic from the table of contents and begin there. Why not take the Encyclical with you on your vacation and instead of reading a magazine, look for a topic that interests you in the papal letter so that you can become informed about the Church’s teachings concerning the ways in which the Gospel of Jesus applies to a technology that is changing our world?
With this encyclical, the Bishop of Rome applies the social teachings of the Catholic Church to the contemporary Industrial Revolution of Artificial Intelligence which may compel us to defend what it means to be human. Leo invites each of us to engage in a critical conversation between the Church and the modern world to examine the impact of Artificial Intelligence on employment, education, the safety of children, and other topics.
The Holy Father calls the automation of jobs a threat to workers who will not have the skills needed to work with Artificial Intelligence systems. He writes, “Today, the convergence of automation, robotics and Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming the very structure of work. These ‘new ways’ of working may not bring great improvements for everyone.”
Leo points out that “early and unsupervised exposure to digital devices and social media can have a negative impact on sleep, attention span, control of emotions and relationships of children with, at times, tragic consequences.” The Holy Father argues that Artificial Intelligence can increase the spread of misinformation and devaluate critical thinking by becoming a dehumanizing force in the classroom. Children and adults are already speaking to or having a personal relationship with Claude or ChatGPT rather than with another person or with God.
Leo, the first Pope to use his own personal computer, insists on the need to ensure that technologies are not concentrated in the hands of only a few people, thereby widening the gap between those included and those excluded from the benefits of the digital revolution. He identifies migrants and refugees as a “litmus test” for social justice. He urges countries to protect “the rightful hopes” of those forced to leave their homes by ensuring them safe, legal routes, and a dignified welcome, and genuine paths to integration, while promoting “the right to remain” in one’s homeland in peace and security, by addressing “the root causes of migration.
After describing exploitative tech manufacturing processes and global Artificial Intelligence training as potentially a “new form of slavery,” the Pontiff issues the first ever formal apology and plea for forgiveness of the institutional Catholic Church for its support of the transatlantic slave trade by which free African people from West Africa were brought to the Americas to labor in chains on the wealth producing plantations of European Americans. Pope Leo admits that the Vatican regulated and legitimized the enslavement of African people at the request of European monarchs, especially the King and Queen of Portugal. He admits that it took the Catholic Church 1,800 years to recognize that Christianity was fully incompatible with “the scourge of human slavery”. He writes, “It is impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many in stark contrast to their immeasurable dignity as persons infinitely loved by the Lord. In the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.” No previous Pope has asked forgiveness for the Church’s approval of the sin and heresy of human slavery!
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Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
The successor of St. Peter concludes his letter to the whole world writing, “The most powerful technology is not necessarily the best. Artificial Intelligence can imitate and simulate a human person, but it does not possess a moral conscience, empathy, or affective, relational or spiritual capabilities. Humanity—in all its grandeur and woundedness—must never be replaced or surpassed by Artificial Intelligence. Technology can alleviate humanity’s sufferings and open new possibilities, but it must not deny the essence of humanity, which is our capacity for relationships and our ability to love.”
In your daily lives the growing impact of artificial intelligence may not be obvious. But it is everywhere! And, a driving force behind much of this rapid growth is the amassing of vast sums of money. Leo is asking us not to be naïve. The Pope is telling us not to think that Artificial Intelligence has nothing to do with our lives far from New York and Silicon Valley.
Artificial Intelligence is the dawn of a brave new world! We must become informed! When we gather around the Lord’s table for the celebration of the Eucharist in order to be instructed by the Word of God and to be nourished by the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, this is not to take us out of this world but to give us the grace and strength we need to engage in the problems and challenges of the world. We should not be afraid of Artificial Intelligence; but we must not let ourselves be controlled by it. We should be confident that with God’s help we can make use of this startling advance in technology in ways that can, over time, enrich and improve the lives of all people everywhere.
Pope Leo XIV’s magisterial Encyclical Magnifica humanitas urges all of us, as members of the Body of Christ, to:
Listen! Learn! Think! Pray! And Act!
Praised be Jesus Christ. Both now and forever. AMEN!