Magnifica Humanitas

(OSV News) — Because J.R.R. Tolkien was a serious Catholic, one might assume that religion would be evident in his literary masterpiece. Yet, there is no religion in “The Lord …

Vice President JD Vance said in a new interview with NBC News that what he has read of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical “sounds very profound.”

The issue raised by “Magnifica Humanitas” is one U.S. lawmakers took a first step to address with the Take It Down Act, which just began enforcement.

“In an era when truth is often distorted in order to serve particular interests and communication strategies, the field of education assumes decisive importance,” Pope Leo wrote.

Pope Leo XIV questioned the Catholic teaching of just war theory in modern warfare and wrote about slavery in an unprecedented way.

Pope Leo called for measures to ensure an economy that “favors human dignity,” first and foremost through transparency and accountability.

In his new encyclical on artificial intelligence, Pope Leo XIV took aim at the normalization of war, made more dangerous by a digital revolution.

New developments promise extraordinary innovation and economic opportunity. Yet they also raise profound moral questions.

Speaking after the promulgation of “Magnifica Humanitas,” the pope explained that he had consulted with scientists, engineers, policymakers, educators and parents as he was working on the encyclical.

A May 25 presentation coincided with the Vatican’s release of Pope Leo’s first encyclical on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.