In a bold and timely address to legislators from 68 countries gathered at the Vatican for the Jubilee of Governments on June 21, 2025, Pope Leo XIV issued a clarion call for ethical leadership in the face of artificial intelligence (AI). The pontiff emphasized that AI must always serve humanity—not diminish it—and urged political leaders to safeguard human dignity and freedom above technological advancement.
Pope Leo, who has quickly made AI a central concern of his pontificate, warned against the misuse of emerging technologies that risk compromising the identity and rights of the human person. “AI will certainly be of great help to society, provided that its employment does not undermine the identity and dignity of the human person and his or her fundamental freedoms,” he said. He was clear that while AI has tremendous potential, it must remain a tool for the good of humanity—not a replacement for it.
For Catholic professionals working to shape civil society, the pope’s message carries profound implications. It is a reminder that leadership in our era must go beyond efficiency and innovation; it must be deeply rooted in ethics and the unchanging dignity of every human person. As AI increasingly influences sectors from healthcare to business to public policy, the pope is asking leaders to exercise conscience, prudence, and a commitment to the common good.
In addition to his warnings about AI, Pope Leo addressed broader social and moral challenges. He condemned the widening gap between rich and poor, calling it a root cause of war and instability. “Working to overcome the unacceptable disproportion between the immense wealth concentrated in the hands of a few and the world’s poor” is not just a policy preference, but a moral imperative, he said. For Catholic professionals, this is a call to pursue justice and solidarity in economic systems, ensuring that the structures we shape do not favor profit over people.
The pope also emphasized the importance of religious freedom, pointing to St. Thomas More—a 16th-century statesman executed for refusing to compromise his conscience—as a model for today’s political and civic leaders. More’s unwavering commitment to truth and conscience stands as an example for all who wish to lead with integrity in a pluralistic world.
Finally, Pope Leo encouraged the application of natural law as a unifying ethical framework that transcends religious divisions. Rooted in reason and shared human nature, natural law provides a moral compass especially vital in today's complex debates over life, identity, and freedom. It is, as he said, “universally valid apart from and above other more debatable beliefs.”
For Catholic professionals seeking to grow as leaders in civil society, Pope Leo’s address is both a challenge and a charge: to lead with wisdom, to integrate faith with public life, and to ensure that technology serves—not supplants—our God-given human dignity.
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