Pope Leo's Magnifica Humanitas encyclical addresses AI, Catholic social teaching, war, and peace, but its master motif is the irreducible dignity of the human being.

Pope Leo XIV speaks during a meeting with bishops, members of the clergy and families whose members have been victims of environmental pollution at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, in Acerra, Italy, on 23 May 2026. Pope Leo XIV speaks during a meeting with bishops, members of the clergy and families whose members have been victims of environmental pollution at the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, in Acerra, Italy, on 23 May 2026. Americans echo Pope Leo's concerns about AI: 'It threatens workers, privacy and human life' Guardian readers in the US spoke of fears about unregulated AI in response to the pope's encyclical warning about the risks of the technology I n his first major papal text since assuming leadership of the Catholic church last year, Pope Leo issued a stark warning about the rise of artificial intelligence this week, denouncing the "culture of power" driving the AI age. Calling for the "most rigorous" ethical constraints on AI - which he described as one of the greatest threats facing humanity today - the first US-born pope also warned of "new forms of slavery" emerging through the digital economy. Speaking to the Guardian, readers in the US echoed the pope's concerns, describing AI as an "unregulated" industry increasingly being used to the "detriment of too many people", while also raising fears about surveillance, labor displacement, war and environmental harm .

Pope Leo XIV attends the presentation of his first Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas in The Vatican on May 25, 2026. Pope Leo XIV attends the presentation of his first Encyclical Letter Magnifica Humanitas in The Vatican on May 25, 2026. Over the past year, Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump have clashed several times in the press, including on the Iran War, nuclear weapons, and immigration. On Monday, Leo potentially opened a new front: AI. Leo's new encyclical --a 42,300-word open letter to the world's 1.4 billion Catholics about preserving dignity in a tech age--never mentions Trump at all.

Pope Leo says AI must be'disarmed' in first major teaching Pope Leo has presented the first major teaching document of his papacy, warning that artificial intelligence needs to be disarmed. The word is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention, the Pope said. Encyclicals are technically letters to Catholic bishops, but over recent decades the missives have become messages to the world from a Pope. While this letter was largely focused on AI, Pope Leo also included one of the strongest, most comprehensive apologies from the Vatican for the Catholic Church's role in slavery. It was impossible not to feel deep sorrow when contemplating the immense suffering and humiliation endured by so many, the Pope wrote, adding that he sincerely asked for pardon in the name of the Church.

The pope's encyclical will address'the protection of the human person in the age of AI', the Vatican says In the first major text of his papacy, Pope Leo will address the rapid rise of artificial intelligence . The Chicago-born pontiff will present the document, known as an encyclical, at the Vatican next week during an event attended by Christopher Olah, the co-founder of Anthropic - a US-based AI firm that has clashed with Donald Trump's administration. The encyclical will address "the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence", the Vatican said on Monday. In a break from tradition, Leo, who was elected pontiff in May last year, will launch the document during a public presentation on 25 May. He will be joined by lay speaker Olah of Anthropic, which is in the middle of a high-profile lawsuit with the Trump administration over the ethics of AI, as well as theologians Anna Rowlands and Léocadie Lushombo.

A day of national mourning is being held in Switzerland on Friday, following a fire which killed 40 young people, mostly teenagers, in a bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort on New Year's Eve. Church bells rang across the country for five minutes, and people stood for a minute's silence in their memory. Firefighters in the resort were applauded as they joined an audience watching the tribute ceremony, which was live-streamed to Crans-Montana from the Swiss city of Martigny. The ceremony saw the leaders of neighbouring countries, including France's Emmanuel Macron, join an audience while speakers, including the Valais canton's president, paid tribute to those who died. The annual food fight festival ''Els Enfarinats'' has left the Spanish town of Ibi covered in flour and egg shells.

The annual food fight festival ''Els Enfarinats'' has left the Spanish town of Ibi covered in flour and egg shells. Every year participants wear military-style costumes and stage a fake coup using eggs, flour and firecrackers. The eggers go around asking for taxes - donations to charity - from local people and if you don't pay you could end up getting splatted. The festival, held in the province of Alicante, is more than 200 years old and takes place on the 28 December each year to coincide with the Day of the Innocents - Spain's equivalent of April Fools' Day. The French model and actress has died at the age of 91.

Huge plumes of ash and smoke were filmed erupting from Mount Etna, Sicily on 27 December as skiers used the slopes below. Scientists at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia said volcanic activity at the site, which frequently erupts, had intensified, with craters continuously emitting ash. In response, scientists issued a red Volcano Observatory Notice for Aviation, its highest level, though authorities said flights would continue to operate normally at a nearby airport unless ashfall increased. The annual food fight festival ''Els Enfarinats'' has left the Spanish town of Ibi covered in flour and egg shells. The French model and actress has died at the age of 91.

Has Elon Musk really been awarded a $1 trillion pay deal? Tesla shares jumped 6 percent on Monday after CEO Elon Musk disclosed that he had bought $1bn worth of the company's stock. The move reinforces Musk's push for greater control over Tesla and comes a week after the company's board offered him a $1 trillion pay package over the next decade. Musk's stock purchase - his first open-market buy-up of shares since 2020 - comes at a critical time for Tesla, as it races to transform into an artificial intelligence and robotics firm whilst also grappling with falling sales of electric vehicles (EVs). Last weekend, Pope Leo decried the widening pay gap between corporate bosses such as Elon Musk - whose estimated wealth now stands at $367bn - and ordinary working people, which he said was a major factor in growing global unrest.

With his name choice and speech, Leo XIV firmly marks AI as a defining challenge facing our world today. But also embedded in the name is a potential path forward. Leo XIII, during his papacy, laid out a vision for protecting workers against tech-induced consolidation, including minimum wage laws and trade unions. His ideas soon gained influence and were implemented in government policies around the world. While it's still unclear what specific guidance Leo XIV may issue on artificial intelligence, history suggests the implications of his crusade could be profound.