Pope Leo and Canadian Prime Minister talk by phone
Pope Leo XIV and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held a phone conversation to discuss the Pope’s newly released encyclical Magnifica humanitas and shared views on promoting peace in the Middle East and Ukraine. The dialogue highlighted the importance of developing artificial intelligence from an ethical, human‑centred perspective. Carney, who is a practising Catholic and Canada’s new prime minister, had previously met the Pope at a Mass marking the start of Leo XIV’s pontificate on 18 May 2025.
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Pope Leo XIV and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney held a telephone conversation on 29 May 2026, timed with the release of the Pope’s new encyclical Magnifica humanitas. The call focused on the ethical development of artificial intelligence, efforts to promote peace in the Middle East and Ukraine, and other matters of mutual interest between the Holy See and Canada. 1 2
The Holy See’s press office confirmed that the discussion took place “on the occasion of the publication of the Encyclical Magnifica humanitas.” 1
Both leaders emphasized the need for a human‑centred approach to AI and highlighted ongoing diplomatic initiatives aimed at peace in conflict zones. 2
The conversation underscored the importance of developing AI ethically, with reference to Canada’s forthcoming federal AI plan that seeks to protect citizens and democratic institutions. 2
The leaders exchanged views on promoting peace, specifically mentioning the Middle East and the war in Ukraine as priority regions for collaborative effort. 1 2
The encyclical’s themes—human dignity, solidarity, and the common good—served as the backdrop for the dialogue, linking the Pope’s teaching to contemporary policy challenges. 1 2
Prime Minister Mark Carney, a practising Catholic, assumed office on 14 March 2025 and attended Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration Mass on 18 May 2025. 1
Pope Leo XIV, elected in May 2025, has prioritized ethical AI, peacebuilding, and social doctrine in his early pontificate. 1
Analyze Catholic encyclicals on AI ethics and peace
Catholic teaching does not treat “AI ethics” and “peace” as separate topics: when technology concentrates power, the moral question becomes what kind of world is being built, and whether the building blocks chosen by humans protect human dignity and the common good—the conditions for stable peace. This synthesis comes through especially clearly in Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas (2026), read alongside classic encyclicals on peace (Benedict XV, Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII).
Leo XIV begins by rejecting any simplistic idea that technology is automatically “good” or automatically “bad.” Digitalization and AI reshape daily life, yet their effects are not fully predictable; therefore, the Church must ask for wisdom to interpret them and judge them morally.
He explicitly frames this as a discernment problem for social and moral reasoning, not merely a technical one: the power of digital infrastructures and algorithms must be evaluated according to the Church’s Social Doctrine.
A key ethical move in the encyclical is methodological: Leo XIV says the criteria for judgment in the digital age are the “noble principles” of Social Doctrine—especially:
These principles determine whether AI systems genuinely foster participation and responsibility, protect the vulnerable, ensure fair access, and remain directed to the good of all.
Leo XIV offers a philosophical clarification: AI systems can imitate functions of human intelligence, but they do not:
Even if AI “learns,” the encyclical describes this as statistical adaptation based on data and feedback, not inner growth.
Ethical implication: if AI lacks moral conscience and responsible understanding, human beings cannot outsource conscience to it. The moral responsibility remains fundamentally human.
Leo XIV uses a biblical contrast to interpret the present era. In the digital world, there is a choice between:
This is a directly ethical lens: AI is part of the construction materials of our age, so the question becomes what is being built and how.
Leo XIV points to three personal-use factors that deserve particular care:
He warns that apparent objectivity may hide the cultural assumptions embedded by those who designed and trained the systems.
Most importantly for peace-building, he highlights a relational risk: simulated “empathy” and “care” can create an illusion of relationship with a real person, and can gradually weaken the desire for genuine human connection.
Ethical implication: AI can corrode interpersonal solidarity by substituting appearances for authentic communion.
Leo XIV includes a direct appeal to AI developers. If technological innovation can be understood as human participation in the divine act of creation, then designers bear “a particular ethical and spiritual responsibility.”
He argues that every design choice reflects a vision of humanity. Therefore, developers must “embed values” with seriousness—especially:
This implies that AI ethics is not only about preventing harms after deployment; it begins with value-laden choices during construction.
Benedict XV frames peace as a “beautiful gift of God,” but emphasizes that stable peace cannot exist only through treaties or external arrangements if mutual charity does not return to appease hate and banish enmity.
So peace is fragile when it is only contractual: it must be rooted in charity that heals animosity.
Pius XII is explicit: “safety does not come” from external means or the sword that imposes conditions of peace without creating peace; true renewal must come “from within, from the spirit.”
This becomes highly relevant to AI, because purely technical “stability” (or deterrence through systems) cannot replace moral renewal and conscience.
Pius XII also teaches that peace worthy of the name must be founded on “charity and justice” taught by the Prince of Peace and desired by the Church—stable, just, fair, and ordered rightly, bound by rights and bonds of fraternal love and cooperation.
Likewise, Pius XI ties peace to Christ’s reign, insisting that the peace of Christ is fundamentally a peace of justice, yet not hard or inflexible: it must be made acceptable and easy by charity and desire for reconciliation.
Leo XIV’s Social Doctrine criteria—dignity, common good, universal destination of goods, subsidiarity, solidarity, social justice—are not just internal church principles; they are precisely the kind of ethical architecture that peace requires.
If AI infrastructures or algorithms:
A particularly forceful ethical section states that combating new forms of slavery is a decisive test for ethical discernment in AI and digital transformation. The encyclical renews condemnation of slavery, trafficking, and commodification of persons, warning that without ethical and humanizing reflection, digital power could lead to new atrocities.
Peace implication: slavery—by definition—destroys human communion and the moral equality required for lasting peace. Benedict XV’s insistence that stable peace needs restored charity to banish enmity fits naturally here.
Pius XI teaches that peace of Christ penetrates souls and unites hearts through brotherly love and mutual forbearance.
Leo XIV warns that simulated communication and imitation of care can weaken the desire for genuine human connections.
Peace implication: if AI consumption habits erode genuine communion, they indirectly corrode the social trust and solidarity that peace requires.
The “Tower of Babel” picture in Magnifica Humanitas—collective effort guided by domination that dehumanizes—echoes the older encyclicals’ concern that peace cannot be created by external domination or deception.
In sum, Catholic encyclicals converge on a single claim: AI is morally assessable because it redistributes power over persons—and therefore it must be judged by whether it safeguards human dignity, fosters justice and charity, and helps build the kind of community in which peace can endure.