All posts tagged: Leo

Pope Leo applies Catholic social teaching to artificial intelligence

Pope Leo applies Catholic social teaching to artificial intelligence

Published by Sam Flores

This is the third of a series of columns by the author on Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas.” This piece focuses on Chapter 3. For earlier columns, see Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.  (RNS) — After summarizing Catholic social teaching in Chapter 2 of his encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), Pope Leo XIV applies this teaching to modern digital technology, especially artificial intelligence. In particular, Pope Leo argues that AI should respect human dignity, foster the common good and not simply empower and enrich those who are developing AI. Like Pope Francis before him, Leo denounces “the growing dominance of a technocratic paradigm in our globalized world: the tendency to let the logic of efficiency, control and profit alone shape personal, social and economic decisions.” When this paradigm rules, Leo argues, technology is not just a tool, “it becomes the standard by which everything is judged, it begins to dictate what matters and what can be discarded, reducing creation to an object of exploitation and human beings to mere cogs in a system driven …

Pope Leo, come to Silicon Valley

Pope Leo, come to Silicon Valley

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — I wish I could better recall every person I met at Our Lady of Peace Church and Shrine this past June 6. It’s a vibrant and growing parish (packed Sunday Masses, every two hours, from 6:30 a.m. through 8 p.m.) in the heart of Silicon Valley, and Bishop Oscar Cantu of San Jose decided it would be an ideal place to have an event on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” just days after its release. I met people from Anthropic, Google DeepMind, Meta, PayPal and Microsoft, among other places. Well over 300 folks showed up for two public panels on a papal encyclical at 9 a.m. on a Saturday. Several who identified as religious felt deep apprehension about what was happening within their companies. Others were secular but expressed gratitude that the pope was stepping up at this key moment in our history. Both the numbers of the people who came, and the kinds of stories they told, demonstrated the profound need for the leadership of Pope Leo and an interest in …

Leo urges SSPX to ‘turn back’ as breakaway traditionalists plan bishop consecrations

Leo urges SSPX to ‘turn back’ as breakaway traditionalists plan bishop consecrations

Published by Sam Flores

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — A breakaway traditionalist Catholic group, the Society of St. Pius X, is defying Vatican orders by proceeding with its plan to ordain new bishops without papal consent on Wednesday (July 1) during a ceremony in Écône, Switzerland. After repeated warnings that the episcopal consecrations would constitute a schismatic act and trigger automatic excommunication, Pope Leo XIV issued an open letter asking the group to desist. “I implore you and ask you with all my heart: Turn back!” the pope wrote in a letter addressed to the superior general of the society, the Rev. Davide Pagliarani, dated June 29. The showdown could mark the end of nearly two decades of Vatican efforts to draw the SSPX back from the margins of Catholic life, where the society has remained staunchly opposed to Vatican II reforms, to synodality and to ecumenism. By moving ahead with new bishops despite Vatican warnings, the SSPX may force Leo to close that ambiguous chapter. In his letter, Leo recognized the positive aspects of SSPX and its members, which …

Jupiter Entering Leo Gives 5 Zodiac Signs The Best Horoscopes On June 30, 2026

Jupiter Entering Leo Gives 5 Zodiac Signs The Best Horoscopes On June 30, 2026

Published by Jenni Sidey

Five zodiac signs have the best horoscopes when Jupiter enters Leo on June 30, 2026. This is a big change in energy that gives these signs extra luck and lots of confidence on Tuesday. Leo is the zodiac sign that literally rules joy and fun. Since Jupiter expands whatever it touches, that means we can expect those two things in abundance over the next year. Though this energy is something everyone can and will enjoy over time, these astrological signs benefit almost instantly on Tuesday. 1. Cancer Design: YourTango Your emerald year might be over, but that doesn’t mean your luck stops here. You still have one of the best horoscopes on June 30 because Jupiter in Leo gives you a lot of luck with money. Not bad, huh? Yes, Cancer. This does mean that all that good fortune you just experienced in your personal life over the last year is now doing the same work for your finances. Don’t be surprised when someone unexpectedly pays for something you buy on Tuesday or you randomly …

War is ‘never blessed by God,’ says Pope Leo in opening cardinals summit

War is ‘never blessed by God,’ says Pope Leo in opening cardinals summit

Published by Sam Flores

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Leo XIV opened his summit of cardinals at the Vatican on Friday (June 26) by appealing to unity within the church, which he said is called to build a “civilization of love” amid rising conflicts and ongoing wars around the world. “War is never worthy of humanity, and it is never blessed by God, because even if we are equipped with high-tech weapons, the Creator has endowed us with intelligence and free will to resolve conflicts as human beings and not as beasts,” the pope said in his homily at Mass, which he celebrated with the cardinals in St. Peter’s Basilica. Cardinals from all over the world — a total of 178 — are gathering at the Vatican from June 26-27 for what’s known as an extraordinary consistory, a gathering meant to address how the church can promote peace in the world and unity in its ranks. Leo drew from the day’s reading to remind the prelates to “share in the true freedom of faith,” which allows the church to …

Pope Leo to convene cardinals to rethink war and peace in the age of AI

Pope Leo to convene cardinals to rethink war and peace in the age of AI

Published by Sam Flores

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Leo XIV will host his second major summit of cardinals Friday and Saturday (June 26-27) at the Vatican, where they are expected to address questions of war, peace and whether Catholic teaching can still rely on the centuries-old theory of a “just war” in an age of drones, nuclear weapons and artificial intelligence. The summit, called an extraordinary consistory, invites the 241 members of the College of Cardinals to Rome with the goal of assisting and advising the pope on important church matters. An extraordinary consistory is considered among the pope’s most consequential consultations with cardinals, planned “when the special needs of the Church and more serious matters suggest it,” according to canon law. The gathering underscores the pope’s intention to heed the cardinals’ request to be more active participants in leading the church after his election last year. Pope Benedict XVI never convened an extraordinary consistory, while Pope Francis only convened two, one in 2014 and the other in 2015. Leo has promised to hold such a gathering every …

These traditionalist Catholics are defying Pope Leo XIV, and embracing their outsider status

These traditionalist Catholics are defying Pope Leo XIV, and embracing their outsider status

Published by Sam Flores

VATICAN CITY (AP) — A breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics will challenge Pope Leo XIV’s authority next week by consecrating four bishops without his consent. Rather than shying away from the confrontation, the Society of St. Pius X seems intent on embracing its notoriety. The group, which celebrates the traditional Latin Mass and rejects the modernizing reforms of the Catholic Church, is planning a highly organized, four-day, livestreamed extravaganza for the consecrations at its Swiss seminary — complete with a souvenir wine set offered to those attending. The July 1 event, nearly four decades after the group first became a thorn in the Vatican’s side, suggests it is leaning in even more ardently to its schismatic status for a new generation of Catholics who prefer their Masses in Latin and don’t mind that their bishops are out of communion with Rome. “To me, they look really like Traditionalism 2.0,” said Massimo Faggioli, professor of theology at Villanova University, Leo’s alma mater. The group, known as the SSPX, has embraced a digital branding of its religious …

Pope Leo XIV warns wars are ‘fed’ faster than people as aid money dries up

Pope Leo XIV warns wars are ‘fed’ faster than people as aid money dries up

Published by Sam Flores

ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV said Monday that wars are being sustained more easily than people are fed, urging governments to strengthen resources to combat hunger after a severe funding shortfall by the United States and other countries. Addressing the governing body of the U.N. World Food Program in Rome, Leo pressed governments to cut red tape and tear down obstacles that prevent assistance from reaching those in need. Echoing a warning first voiced by late Pope Francis during a WFP visit a decade ago, Leo criticized political and administrative barriers that slow humanitarian aid while military spending continues unhindered. “Whereas forms of aid and development projects are obstructed by involved and incomprehensible political decisions, skewed ideological visions and impenetrable customs barriers, weaponry is not,” he said. “In effect, conflicts are ‘fed’ more readily than people are nourished.” The appeal comes as funding for food assistance has dropped sharply — by about 59% since 2022 — even as needs have surged, according to a recent WFP report. There was some positive news on funding …