(LifeSiteNews) — In his encyclical ‘Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence,’ Pope Leo XIV reiterates the unchanging teaching of the Catholic Church on the sacredness of human life.

The Pontiff condemns abortion, the killing of the innocent, and euthanasia in a document dedicated to calling out the anti-human philosophies behind transhumanism and posthumanism. 

In the second chapter of the encyclical, which covers the foundations of the Social Doctrine of the Church, Pope Leo writes that “human rights are inviolable” and “among these rights, the first is the right to life, from conception to its natural end, without which it is impossible to exercise any other right. When this fundamental right is denied — as in the cases of induced abortion, killing of the innocent and euthanasia — we are faced with choices that the Church considers gravely wrong.” 

In the same chapter Pope Leo addresses the issue of migrants and refugees, writing that their treatment is a “litmus test for social justice today.” He quotes Pope Francis who urged that migrants be seen not simply “as a problem to be managed, but as a living image of the People of God on the move.”

Transhumanism & Posthumanism

Chapter 3 of the encyclical is titled ‘Technology & Dominance – The grandeur of humanity in light of the promises of AI.’ Here Pope Leo acknowledges that it is not his intention “to offer a comprehensive treatment of artificial intelligence, nor to give an overview of the extensive relevant literature” but rather to recall “a few essential elements for a moral and social discernment that safeguards the primacy of the human person.” 

In addressing transhumanism and posthumanism, he writes that “from the perspective of the Church’s Social Doctrine the key issue is not the use of technology as such, but the vision that underlies it.” He emphasises, “If the human being is treated as something to be perfected or surpassed, it becomes easier to accept that some lives are less useful, less desirable or less worthy… For this reason, a clear distinction must be made. It is one thing to integrate technology within a human-centered, relational vision; it is quite another to be guided by an outlook that devalues human limits and promises a purely technical form of “salvation.””

Truth, clerical abuse, trafficking, and apology for slavery

In discussing new communications technology, Pope Leo touched on their role in bringing abuse to light, but also their role in facilitating human trafficking. After touching on this, the Pontiff admitted that the institutional Church had also played a role in the history of slavery.

In Chapter 4, entitled ‘Safeguarding Humanity at a time of transformation – truth, work, freedom,’  Pope Leo writes that “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.”

He adds that Christian communities “are called to commit themselves to transparency in communication and to the honest pursuit of facts.” Thanking journalists who,“driven by a passion for truth, have played a crucial role in bringing injustices and abuses to light” Leo declares that “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.”

Condemning human trafficking “as a contemporary form of slavery and a grave violation of human dignity”, Pope Leo writes that a failure to respond firmly to these evils is to become complicit in “today’s sins which are akin to those of the past when slavery was being concealed and justified.” In this context, as a historic first, the Holy Father “asks for pardon in the name of the Church” for its role in the past in legitimizing forms of subjugation like slavery:

In the development of her doctrine [on human dignity], the Church has gradually come to a deeper awareness of the gravity of these issues. It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. In antiquity and the Middle Ages many individuals and even ecclesiastical institutions had slaves. Already in the early modern period, the Apostolic See of Rome, responding to requests from Sovereigns, intervened several times in order to regulate and legitimize forms of subjugation, and, in certain cases, the enslavement of “infidels.” [174] It was only in the nineteenth century that a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated, notably under Pope Leo XIII. [175] This development offers a clear example of the Church’s growth in understanding the perennial truths of Revelation that she safeguards. Although there was not always consistency in practice — given that slavery was long tolerated before being unequivocally condemned — there has been a continuous affirmation throughout history of the dignity of every human being, created in the image of God, even if it took eighteen centuries for its full incompatibility with slavery to be explicitly recognized. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached. [176] 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. For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.

Just War theory ‘outdated’

Chapter 5 of the encyclical is titled ‘The culture of power and the civilization of love.’  Here Leo compares two opposing approaches, the first being “the temptation of constructing the Tower of Babel, relying on power and pride” and the second, the “patience is required in order to rebuild Jerusalem “piece by piece,” as in the time of Nehemiah, by safeguarding humanity and the common good.” 

Pope Leo made his strong oppostion to Just War theory clear by  writing, “Today, more than ever, without prejudice to the right to self-defense in the strictest sense, it is important to reaffirm that the ‘just war’ theory, which has all too often been used to justify any kind of war, is now outdated.” He adds that there are far more effective tools to resolve conflict, namely, “ dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness.”

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Tolkien in a papal encyclical 

Interestingly, the author of The Lord of the Rings,  J.R.R. Tolkien, makes a brief appearance in Chapter 5. Pope Leo uses his iconic wizard character Gandalf’s words to outline our part in building a civilization of love: “Tt is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till.” In his own words, Pope Leo continues, “The civilization of love will not arise from a single or spectacular gesture, but from the sum total of small and steadfast acts of fidelity that serve as a bulwark against dehumanization.” 

Mystery of Incarnation 

In his concluson Pope Leo reminds the faithful that at the heart of everything is the mystery of the Incarnation, inviting everyone to “contemplate, in the face of the Son of God, the grandeur of humanity that shines a light also on the era of AI.” 

Pope Leo entrusts to the “Mother of Christ, to the Woman of the Magnificat” his desire that even the era of AI be one in which the Holy Spirit brings about the civilization of love in our lives.

Critics of the document will undoubtedly highlight such concepts as the Church as a “listener” rather than “Mother and Teacher,” the equating of migrants with the poor and sick, his rejection of Just War theory, and the use of Francis-era buzzwords associated more with freemasonry than Catholicism. For example, in Magnifica Humanitas the word “fraternity” occurs 13 times