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Nigerian Catholic priest Fr. Oliver Ikenna Nwagbara, a member of the Congregation of Christ the Emmanuel (CCE) and Assistant Pastor at Good Shepherd Parish in the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, Canada, is often called the "Digital Pastor." He shares his insights on Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his first encyclical, Pope Leo XIV used a sweeping reflection on artificial intelligence to question whether the Catholic Church's centuries-old just war framework remains valid in modern warfare and to ask pardon for the church's role in slavery.

The pope's 82-page encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas" ("Magnificent Humanity"), primarily focuses on the ethical development of artificial intelligence and the dangers posed by autonomous weapons, concentrated technological power and the erosion of human dignity. But within the document, Pope Leo also makes several broader interventions on war, violence and historical injustice.

In discussing such topics, he questioned the Catholic teaching of just war theory in modern warfare and wrote about slavery in an unprecedented way. 

The just war theory, largely created through the writings of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, has been accepted for centuries throughout Catholic teaching, to determine whether warfare could be morally justified under strict conditions. It states that a nation must try its best to avoid violence by considering the human cost, just cause and an effort to engage in diplomatic negotiations. It has recently been used by the Trump administration to justify the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. 

But Pope Leo wrote the theory has become increasingly insufficient in an age shaped by advanced weaponry and artificial intelligence and "is now outdated." 

"Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness," he wrote. "The use of force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations."

The pope also introduced additional criteria he said should be considered before warfare, including ensuring a clear chain of responsibility when automated technologies are used in combat, establishing a "moral timeframe for making judgments” in an era when artificial intelligence can accelerate military decisions, and safeguarding civilians.

Elsewhere in the encyclical, Pope Leo addressed the Catholic Church's participation in the "scourge of slavery," in broader terms than many of his predecessors. Previous popes have apologized for more specific instances like Christian involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, but Pope Leo appeared to frame the Church's responsibility more institutionally.

"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," he wrote. "For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon."

The pope's comments immediately drew attention because both subjects,  just war theory and institutional responsibility for slavery, are novel approaches. Anna Rowlands, professor of political theology and Catholic social doctrine at Durham University in England, spoke with Catholic News Service about the significance of the pope's statements and how they fit within the broader themes of "Magnifica Humanitas."

This interview has been edited for clarity and length:

CNS: So talking about the fact that this first encyclical is addressing a lot of the issues that he's brought up throughout his papacy, something that really struck us was his just war theory and how he said that it was outdated. I wanted to get your thoughts on that. If it is outdated, is there going to be a new theory that replaces it? Do you see tenants of that throughout this encyclical?

Rowlands: So, actually, Pope Leo is joining a conversation that's been going on for some time through recent encyclicals and wider documents of the Church about exactly how we keep the dynamism of the Church's commitment to peace as the only true end goal in sight. So the just war tradition was developed obviously from the early Church, from the first centuries, including Augustine's very significant contribution to that, St. Thomas Aquinas' contribution, and then into the modern era, that tradition was developed in order to try to work out how you can keep peace to the world and a sense that you could build sustainable, stable human communities that were committed to justice. 

So the question is, how much does the just war theory -- which is a theory, it's a way of thinking together about how you achieve those ends -- how fit is it as a framework, as a kind of moral architecture for thinking about the world that we're in now. 

And in recent papacies, not simply Pope Leo at this moment, but in recent papacies, there's been an attempt to reevaluate the usefulness of that theory to the modern moment. Without rejecting the theory outright, the evaluation has been: sometimes it can be too easy to deploy the just war theory in the world we live in now, too quickly to defend violence and intervention and force, rather than to pause back from it. 

So the question is, can just war theory sometimes be pushed towards justifying violence where we might want to see peace? So it's not that the Church has refused that tradition, and we saw Pope Leo do this very recently, he drew from the just war tradition in relation to Iran and the conflict of Iran, to say you need to remember this doesn't meet the criteria of just war theory. That's what many of the American bishops, the U.S. bishops, are also saying. So we still deploy that. You can see its usefulness and importance there. 

But what the encyclical is doing is saying, but don't rely on that alone, and we need to continue this live discernment about the performance, the moral performance of just war theory. How much does it help us reach the true ends, which are a just peace for all within a global order and also within nations. And so in this moment, the encyclical is pushing us to say, you can't use just war theory as a legitimate way to rush towards aggression and violence. And we need to find almost just war theory plus in order to enable us to really reach the ends of just peace. And remember, that's the focus. It's not just is there a textbook consideration that allows us to legitimate domination. 

And what's really important here is he's evaluating adjustable theory in a tech era. Because everything in this document is looking at what does it mean to live in a time, an era, a moment where tech -- we're sitting here mic'd up, now you're in front of a laptop -- we're totally tech-mediated in the conversation. 

What does that do to warfare? And he's very clear that it pushes to impersonalization, it pushes to a rapidification, a speeding up of decisions. And it seems to mean that we have a much less embodied understanding of what any use of violence, even if it might be in self defense, legitimate, what that really entails and how you create reflective intervals, true transparency and accountability. So if you read the bit of the document that comes after his critical critique of just war theory, he sets out some of the conditions, he calls them criteria for judgment that help us think what would we do now given the context of modern warfare that we're in now? So he wants us to morally evaluate performance and theory, almost look beyond it into a framework that includes it, but takes us beyond. And he gives us some new criteria for a very tech driven era of warfare.

CNS: Something else that we found very interesting was -- I think this was kind of one of the rare moments where we saw him ask for forgiveness for the Church's long tolerance of slavery. Can you tell me a little bit about what you thought about that, and do you think that it was time? Do you think that it really is going to be impactful?

Rowlands: Yeah. So when I first read those paragraphs in the document, I was really struck by them. And I was struck by them for two reasons from two different perspectives. One is that the apologies that we have for slaves from the Church before, from John Paul II's time onwards, including Pope Francis, have by and large been an expression of the deepest of sorrow and regret for the involvement of individual Christians in legitimating what is always illegitimately ownership and subjugation of a another human being. What this text does is move us slightly more in the direction of talking about the Church and the language of the Church, not merely individual Christians. 

So there's much more of a sense of a collective ownership of what is done in the name of the Church. There's a kind of movement of language frame there which I think is about bringing the question of slavery and the legacy of slavery into a collective space of accountability, responsibility and discernment.

That links to the second part that struck me really centrally, which is it's not just a sort of sudden moment of sort of a apologizing for slavery, it's in the context of thinking about contemporary slavery now and the fact that in a tech era where there are new forms of subjugation and slavery, and Dr. (Leocadie) Lushombo talked in her intervention today about those new forms of slavery in the digital era, the extracted industries, the mining, the trafficking of people and so forth. He's basically saying to us, we don't want to be in another moment of history in 100 years where we are finding that we are apologizing once again because we didn't deal with the slavery of our own era now. So he's saying, if I'm going to say that with authority, which I've mastered urgency now, I must also deal with the historical past.

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WASHINGTON – Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), issued a statement today welcoming Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.

Archbishop Coakley’s statement follows:

“The Church in the United States welcomes the publication of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas, with gratitude and praise. It is a powerful reminder that no technology can replace a child of God, and all technology should be placed at the service of helping humanity thrive.

“As his predecessor Pope Leo XIII addressed the challenges of the Industrial Revolution in Rerum Novarum one hundred thirty-five years ago, our Holy Father shines the light of the Gospel and the tradition of the Church on the new opportunities and challenges posed by the rise of Artificial Intelligence. The Pope calls us to never lose sight of the inherent dignity of all human life and the moral imperative for technology to support peace and the common good rather than the limited interest of a few.

“Recognizing the importance of this issue to the Holy Father and to us all, the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops tasked the USCCB Committee on Doctrine to lead and coordinate our work regarding Artificial Intelligence.  It reflects the Catholic belief that the dignity of the human person is inviolable. 

“My brother bishops and I look forward to prayerfully reading the encyclical more deeply over the next few days. We encourage all people of good will to reflect on this rich papal teaching and to seek ways in which to apply it in their lives.”

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- At a time when digital technologies are developing at a rapid and unpredictable pace, every single person must decide if she or he will be: a passive bystander; an unhelpful commentator; an avaricious architect of a new "Tower of Babel"; or a patient, hope-filled builder of a "civilization of love," Pope Leo XIV said in his first encyclical, "Magnifica Humanitas."

In the 82-page document, released May 25, the day after Pentecost, the pope also asked forgiveness for the Church's long tolerance of slavery, and he declared that its "just war theory" was now outdated.

"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 wrote.

"Humanity possesses far more effective and capable tools for promoting human life and resolving conflicts, such as dialogue, diplomacy and forgiveness. The use of force, violence and weapons reflects a relational poverty that always has disastrous consequences for civilian populations," the pope's new document said. 

The document, signed May 15, marked the 135th anniversary of his namesake's landmark social encyclical, "Rerum Novarum," which reflected on society, the economy and politics, and ushered in what is now known as the "Social Doctrine of the Church."

"When some objected that the Church should not waste energy on worldly matters, but instead focus on communicating the message of eternal life, Leo XIII responded with realism and wisdom, saying that the proclamation of the Gospel cannot overlook the concrete lives of people," Pope Leo XIV wrote.

While his turn-of-the-last-century predecessor focused on the industrial revolution's impact on the human being and society, Pope Leo looked at the consequences of the digital revolution in the 21st-century and how best to safeguard "the human person in the time of artificial intelligence."

Pope Leo used nearly the first half of the document to outline the role and development of the church's social teaching, and why and how it continues to be needed in a world facing both old and new challenges.

"Today, the Social Doctrine of the Church is a legacy of wisdom, where we find principles for thought, criteria for discernment and judgment, and concrete guidelines for action" to "clearly interpret the challenges of the present and identify appropriate ways for living out a clear Christian witness, with joy and in service to the world," he wrote.

"It is not an inert set of concepts, but a living corpus of truth that safeguards and interprets humanity's vocation to a full and just life. I therefore wish to add my own voice to this living tradition," he added.

Listening to and engaging with the wider world, especially those active in the fields of science, technology, academia and politics, he wrote, is crucial to a process of "shared discernment" to identify and heal the spiritual and cultural roots of present-day problems rather than issuing reactive pronouncements or "risk letting the succession of emergencies dictate the direction of our path."

While the Church is concerned with theological, "anthropological" and social questions, it is also "necessary to establish adequate regulatory tools capable of upholding justice and curbing the distorting effects of technological power," the pope wrote.

"Nevertheless, the issue is not limited to regulation. As Pope Francis warned, we must realistically ask ourselves who holds this power today and how they use it," he added. 

"Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together," he wrote. Every generation has the same duty of "guiding history to become a place where the dignity of every person is safeguarded, justice is promoted and fraternity is made possible."

While the document was embedded "in a time of artificial intelligence," it also included a wide gamut of ongoing, lingering ills such as: the exploitation of people and nature; war; the arms race; disrespect for human life; threats to democracy and the common good; discrimination against the poor and women; and new forms of slavery.

"Human trafficking must be recognized as a contemporary form of slavery and a grave violation of human dignity. Failing to respond firmly, or tolerating these practices in any way, is in some way to become complicit in today's sins, which are akin to those of the past when slavery was being concealed and justified," Pope Leo wrote.

While the Catholic Church constantly affirmed the dignity of every human being, he wrote, "neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery," noting it wasn't until the 19th century "that a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated, notably under Pope Leo XIII."

"This development offers a clear example of the Church's growth in understanding the perennial truths of Revelation that she safeguards," he wrote, "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," he wrote, and "for this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon."

It is "a shared responsibility," he wrote, of all members of the human family to come together and discern "Where are we going? Toward what goal do we wish to orient ourselves? What direction should we choose as a people and as a human community?"

"The search for the truth in public life, education in the digital environment, the transformation of work, the fragility of families and new forms of slavery are not isolated phenomena," he wrote. "Rather, they reflect a common underlying issue, namely that if technology becomes the ultimate criterion, the human person risks being reduced to data, a cog in a machine or a commodity."

"If, however, technology is integrated with a wise perspective, it can become an instrument of growth, justice and fraternity," he added.

Innovation can genuinely serve integral human development and integral ecology, Pope Leo wrote, "rather than becoming a source of exclusion and dominance."

Referring often to St. Augustine's teachings, Pope Leo clearly defined the two "cities" people today must choose to contribute to: either a worldly, selfish land dedicated to building a "Tower of Babel" or a Christian "civilization of love in the digital age."

He decried today's "culture of power" that was "normalizing" war, ballooning military arsenals, and fomenting fear and polarization; he reinforced the Vatican's long-standing opposition to leaving the decision to use lethal force to AI or "to opaque or automated processes."

The pope also condemned today's "false realism," calling it "truly irresponsible" to stoke resignation by pretending war is inevitable and peace and dialogue are "utopian or irrational positions that ignore the risks at stake." 

"In fact, peace is neither a naïve hope nor merely the absence of war; instead, it is always possible as the fruit of justice and charity," he wrote.

Pope Leo underlined the need for everyone to take responsibility in building a better world by quoting the wizard Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings. The Return of the King." "It 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."

Pope Leo then proposed five paths toward daily and public responsibility: "the need to disarm words; building peace through justice; adopting the perspective of victims; cultivating a healthy realism; and reviving dialogue and multilateralism."

Fundamentally, he added, what is needed is the Christian view of humanity and understanding of God's plan for his creation.

"As a believer among believers, I invite 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," he wrote. "In Christ, we are called to cooperate in the work of creation, rather than be disinterested observers of technological processes that limit our freedom and responsibility."

"The dignity inscribed in each of us by the Holy Spirit can also be seen in our capacity to reflect critically, choose and love freely, and form authentic relationships," Pope Leo wrote.

"No computational system, however sophisticated, can create a heart that gives itself, or a conscience that discerns good from evil," he wrote. "Even when machines excel in efficiency, a human face that asks to be gazed upon remains the center of our history."