Vatican City is preparing for the imminent release of Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural encyclical, a landmark document expected to rigorously address artificial intelligence (AI). This significant text will advocate for an ethics-based approach to AI, prioritizing fundamental human dignity, the integrity of social relationships, and the pursuit of peace. Pope Leo XIV officially signed the document on a notable date: 135 years to the day after his namesake, Pope Leo XIII, signed his seminal encyclical, “Rerum Novarum” (Of New Things).

“Rerum Novarum” laid the groundwork for modern Catholic social thought by addressing the rights of workers, defining the limits of capitalism, and outlining the obligations of states and employers during the Industrial Revolution. Pope Leo XIV has drawn a direct parallel, asserting that the AI revolution presents existential questions as profound as those posed by the Industrial Revolution over a century ago. The new encyclical is anticipated to embed the AI discussion firmly within the broader context of the Church’s extensive social teaching, which encompasses critical issues like labor, justice, and peace.

Experts observe the Vatican's unique position in this global debate. Meghan Sullivan, a philosophy professor at the University of Notre Dame and director of its ethics institute, suggested that the Catholic Church is poised to be “the adult in the room” in discussions about AI integration into society, with Pope Leo XIV emerging as one of the most forceful advocates for human dignity. Just days after his 2025 election, Pope Leo had already underscored the Church’s responsibility to offer its “treasury of her social teaching” to confront AI’s challenges to human dignity, justice, and labor. The American pontiff, a former math major who is known for his tech engagement, is expected to revisit these themes on the Vatican’s social communications day, dedicated to the human cost of the AI race.

Earlier messages from Pope Leo XIV have warned against the erosion of authentic human relationships by chatbot “friends,” the threat to human genius from AI-powered creative works, and the distortion of human reality by generative AI deepfakes. The public release of the encyclical, expected in the coming weeks, could spark a new point of contention between the Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV and the Trump administration, which has prioritized the rapid development of AI as a matter of vital national economic and security strategy. The U.S. has resisted international regulatory efforts to control AI and has domestically removed bureaucratic hurdles to its advancement. This document was signed concurrently with President Donald Trump's visit to China, which included discussions on AI business and featured prominent tech figures like Elon Musk (of X and Grok AI) and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (who recently secured approval to sell H200 AI chips to Chinese buyers) on Air Force One.

Since the advent of ChatGPT, the breathtaking capabilities of AI have captured global attention. While tech companies relentlessly pursue advanced AI systems, experts concurrently caution against its inherent risks, ranging from distant existential threats posed by rogue AIs to immediate, everyday problems such as bias in algorithmic hiring systems. In response, the United Nations last year established a new governance framework for AI, following previous multilateral summits (organized by Britain, South Korea, and France) that yielded only non-binding pledges. The European Union, in 2024, adopted its own Artificial Intelligence Act, implementing a risk-based methodology for AI regulations. The Vatican has actively sought to contribute its perspective to this discourse, proposing ethical guidelines for AI applications across diverse sectors including warfare, education, and healthcare. Its consistent underlying message is that AI must function as a tool to complement, not supplant, human intelligence. Furthermore, the Vatican has highlighted the significant environmental impact of the AI race, citing the “vast amounts of energy and water” required by AI data centers and computational power.

Thomas Harmon, a theology professor at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, emphasized the global reach and intellectual depth of the Catholic Church in this context: “There are almost a billion and a half Catholics in the world, so that alone is reason to pay attention. But beyond the numbers, the Catholic Church has a deep and sophisticated tradition of thinking through what it means to be human.” In 2020, the Vatican engaged tech companies in signing the “Rome Call for AI Ethics,” which distilled core principles for AI regulation, including inclusiveness, accountability, impartiality, and privacy. Major corporations such as Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco endorsed this pledge.

In his final years, Pope Francis had also passionately advocated for an international treaty to regulate AI, asserting that the risks of technology devoid of human values like compassion, mercy, morality, and forgiveness were too great to be left solely to the discretion of AI researchers and developers. He brought his considerable authority to bear on the Group of Seven in 2024, addressing a special session on the perils and promises of AI. There, Pope Francis insisted that politicians must lead the effort to ensure AI remains human-centric, guaranteeing that decisions regarding the use of weapons, or even less-lethal tools, always reside with human operators. He ultimately called for an outright ban on the use of lethal autonomous weapons, commonly known as “killer robots.”

Pope Leo XIV, who is demonstrably AI-savvy, has continued this critical engagement. Internally, he has cautioned priests against using AI for sermon preparation, while externally, he has vocally raised concerns about AI’s broader implications for world peace, labor, and the fundamental meaning of reality. As an Augustinian pope, generative AI’s capacity for misinformation and deception through deepfake imagery is particularly troubling to him, given that the pursuit of truth is a cornerstone of his religious order's spirituality. In a June 2025 speech at an AI conference, Pope Leo acknowledged generative AI’s benefits in healthcare and scientific discovery but questioned “its possible repercussions on humanity’s openness to truth and beauty, on our distinctive ability to grasp reality.” His consistent appeal for peace extends to monitoring AI’s development and deployment in warfare, particularly in regions like the Middle East and Ukraine, where automated weapon systems involving aerial drones, maritime, and ground platforms are being utilized. “What is happening in Ukraine, in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, in Lebanon and in Iran illustrates the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies in a spiral of annihilation,” he stated recently at La Sapienza, Europe’s largest university.