In his deliberations on what it means to be human, Pope Leo says “we are all born naked and in need; poor by birth, in need of bread, and words, and words of care and affection.”
Only through becoming adult, “we risk forgetting it,” with people’s “humanity betrayed or cast aside, exploited or deceived.”
“Life is no longer understood as a gift, but as a commodity. It is no longer viewed as a summons to care and responsibility, but as a product to be exploited.”
He “to be human is to be free by nature,” and to “recognise [life’s] grandeur” and “immense potential.”
But he says “to be human … implies a responsibility before history,” as “the human being is one who grows, learns, and works with both hands and mind.”
He then talks about the tragedy of the second world war, when “humanity had come to realise that scientific progress, when severed from wisdom, can turn into a weapon of destruction.”
He says 80 years later, the founding charter of Unesco – built on that recognition – still stands.
Turning to the issue of technology, he says “our efforts in this domain must ensure that new technologies remain at the service of the human person, rather than becoming yet another instrument of domination and injustice.”
In a strong passage, he warns:
“Over the centuries, many tasks once performed by human beings have been entrusted to machines whose capabilities and applications have continued to expand. More recently, certain artificial systems have even been given the name of our human faculty of thought intelligence.
At the same time, however, our ideas and relationships risk being impoverished by a process of dehumanisation.
The paradox has become increasingly evident.
While intelligence is attributed to computational systems, we struggle to recognise the inalienable dignity of human persons whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when deemed no longer productive, the rejected and discarded.”
And, on that note, we will be closing the blog for today.
-
Pope Leo has warned against AI creating “a paradise of machines” as he expressed concerned about “losing our humanity” as a result of the uncontrolled technological advance, including the AI (12:49).
-
In later remarks at Unesco, Leo cautioned that technology “must remain at the service of humans,” and not become instrument of “domination and injustice” (15:54).
-
He warned that rapid technological advancements, if not underpinned by “a shared ethical foundation,” could “hinder dialogue rather than foster it” (16:00).
-
Opening the first papal visit to France in 18 years, Pope Leo also stressed the country’s history “rooted in the Catholic tradition” (12:41) and stressed that “authentic secularity” does not exclude religion.
-
Speaking alongside France’s president Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, he also appeared to criticise the country’s assisted dying laws (12:55), warning about “a temptation to look to science for a solution and a consolation for all our suffering.”
-
Pope Leo also urged everyone not to be “indifferent to suffering” and the “scourge” of war, while also calling for “dialogue and diplomacy” instead of conflicts, and criticising “the mistaken belief” that nuclear arms “guarantee security, … fuelling a new and difficult to control arms race” (13:02).
-
The pontiff also criticised global leaders as he said “instead of respecting the law, those in power invoke it when it serves their interests and disregard it when it restrains them, treating even justice itself as though it were a commodity to be bought and sold” (16:04).
-
His four-day pilgrimage to France – unexpectedly popular, with up to a million people expected to attend all events (10:42) – continues with a visit at the Notre Dame Cathedral today, and further plans in Paris, Lourdes and Metz over the weekend (10:28).
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
As Pope Leo gets closer to the Notre Dame Cathedral, the bells ring once again, as they did this morning (10:07), to mark his arrival.
I have just realised that today’s blog has – inexcusably – not yet featured the Eiffel Tower.
Time to put things right:
Pope Leo is now travelling in a Papamobile through the streets of Paris, with large crowds of (very enthusiastic) well-wishers lining up his route.
He just blessed a small kid with a French beret on his head.
My heart.
Pope Leo ends with a call for action to help Unesco and other similar bodies “in the realisation that every people has its own precious part to play in the pursuit of that authentic human progress which peace alone can guarantee.”
“This is not to embrace a naive optimism that ignores difficulties, but rather to persevere in the hope that the desired good is always attainable.”
And he ends on that note.
He will be at the Notre Dame Cathedral later this afternoon, before joining the French youth at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis of Paris.
Pope Leo also offers a comment on the ongoing discussion about the crisis of the UN and other similar international organisations as some countries see dialogue “an obstacle to action” and a “charade” and not a genuine attempt to resolve differences peacefully.
He says:
“Our world regards international institutions with mixed feelings.
On the one hand, these institutions are expected to respond to challenges that no individual state can face alone.
On the other hand, these same institutions are experiencing a crisis of effectiveness, especially in situations where dialogue is seen as an obstacle to action rather than a resource for peace, a charade rather than an opportunity to seek the common good together.
In this case, we see the urgent need to promote a virtue that seems as greatly desired as it is really found, namely, the virtue of trust.
Trust that differences do not necessarily constitute a threat. Trust that honest dialogue can bring about a greater good than what individuals could achieve on their own.”
Pope Leo warns that “without truth, language becomes subject to the logic of violence and to the arbitrary will of the powerful.”
In what will be seen as a criticism of world leaders that disrespect the rule of law – you can think of some names here, I guess – he says:
“Instead of respecting the law, those in power invoke it when it serves their interests and disregard it when it restrains them, treating even justice itself as though it were a commodity to be bought and sold.”
He warns:
“If we realise that the corruption of the law begins with the corruption of the heart, we can recognise how every science risks losing its proper meaning when pursued without ethics, and thus ceasing to serve and reflect human dignity.”
Pope Leo also warns against the pursuit of power without limits, as – using the analogy to the Tower of Babel – he says:
“The more power seeks to oppress, the more it weakens itself, exposing its inhumane face. We see this in the suffering and injustice caused by despotism, as well as in forms of exploitation that damage both society and the environment.
As history teaches us, many empires have revelled in their power before being consumed by it and collapsing like a tower…. The presumption of making oneself like God and subjecting peoples to a single yoke leads to a confusion of languages; the failure to understand one another instead of reaching heaven as it presumed to do.”
He warns that “today, the Temptation of Babel reappears in a globalisation pursued without fraternity and rapacious forms of neocolonialism in ideological impositions”
He says that technological progress meant that “communication has become much faster, but not necessarily more truthful” and “information is abundant, but that is not synonymous with wisdom.”
He warns:
“Without a shared ethical foundation, the many channels of communication risk multiplying false information and giving currency to words devoid of meaning, thereby hindering dialogue rather than fostering it.
Artificial intelligence amplifies this problem.”
In his deliberations on what it means to be human, Pope Leo says “we are all born naked and in need; poor by birth, in need of bread, and words, and words of care and affection.”
Only through becoming adult, “we risk forgetting it,” with people’s “humanity betrayed or cast aside, exploited or deceived.”
“Life is no longer understood as a gift, but as a commodity. It is no longer viewed as a summons to care and responsibility, but as a product to be exploited.”
He “to be human is to be free by nature,” and to “recognise [life’s] grandeur” and “immense potential.”
But he says “to be human … implies a responsibility before history,” as “the human being is one who grows, learns, and works with both hands and mind.”
He then talks about the tragedy of the second world war, when “humanity had come to realise that scientific progress, when severed from wisdom, can turn into a weapon of destruction.”
He says 80 years later, the founding charter of Unesco – built on that recognition – still stands.
Turning to the issue of technology, he says “our efforts in this domain must ensure that new technologies remain at the service of the human person, rather than becoming yet another instrument of domination and injustice.”
In a strong passage, he warns:
“Over the centuries, many tasks once performed by human beings have been entrusted to machines whose capabilities and applications have continued to expand. More recently, certain artificial systems have even been given the name of our human faculty of thought intelligence.
At the same time, however, our ideas and relationships risk being impoverished by a process of dehumanisation.
The paradox has become increasingly evident.
While intelligence is attributed to computational systems, we struggle to recognise the inalienable dignity of human persons whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when deemed no longer productive, the rejected and discarded.”
Pope Leo is speaking now, beginning again in French (despite his Duolingo snub, 14:28) and paying tribute to Unesco’s role globally.
He then turns to English, saying the pace of changes globally pushes us to question “what does it mean to be human.”
“Every culture is challenged by this question, which lies at the heart of every form of knowledge, every art and every religion. Even in the 21st century, after all, we cannot take for granted that we know who the human person is or what it means to live as a human being.”
Unesco’s director general Khaled El-Enany is speaking now, so it shouldn’t be long until Pope Leo begins his address.
You can watch along below, but I will bring you all the key lines here.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
