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Every time the Vatican has warned of the danger of a technology, that technology has ended up changing the world. It’s up to the AI

May 27, 2026 by usatoday24

Let’s do a little memory. The 15th century was ending and The Christian Church found the printing press wonderful.almost providential. The adoption of that invention by ecclesiastical institutions was enthusiastic because it allowed them to amplify their mission. It didn’t take long for the discourse to change noticeably. in the bull Inter multiplies In 1487, Pope Innocent VIII praised it but warned of its risks: the same thing that served to spread the word of God, could serve to spread heresies and false ideas. It was then that censorship was introduced according to which no book should be printed without the approval of the ecclesiastical authorities. That laid the foundations for the future Index librorum prohibitorum which established a list of prohibited works for all of Christendom. That didn’t go too well. Martin Luther precisely took advantage of that divine invention to distribute your propaganda during the Protestant Reformation, and if this movement ended up being successful it was undoubtedly thanks to the printing press. It is not in vain that Luther is considered the first author of best-sellers of history. The encyclicals in the face of technological advances Let’s move forward. In 1891 Pope Leo XIII published his encyclical Rerum Novarumpossibly the most famous social encyclical in history. In it the pontiff focused on the rights of workers as response to the disturbing Industrial Revolution. He denounced the concentration of wealth and new technologies “in the hands of a few,” and warned that this was turning workers into slaves. Let’s keep moving forward. 90 years ago, Pius XI launched his act Vigilanti Cura (1936), dedicated exclusively to cinema. It recognized the technological progress that cinematography represented, but warned that if it was not strictly regulated, it would become the greatest instrument of moral corruption and mass manipulation in history. That message would be accompanied by the encyclical Miranda Prorsus (1957), by Pius XII, which extended that warning to both radio and televisionwhich had as much or more capacity than cinema to be beneficial but also toxic to humanity. There have been other social encyclicals related to technology: Pacem in Terris (1963) by John XXIII spoke of the atomic danger, while Evangelium Vitae (1995) by John Paul II was a wake-up call against eugenic biomedical techniques and embryo manipulation. The curious thing is that most of these encyclicals were published many years after certain technological advances had occurred. That would make one think that there are one or several encyclicals dedicated to the internet, mobile phones or social networks. There are not, although these topics have been mentioned by the last Popes in other messages. Arrives Magnificent Humanitas Therefore it is surprising that Pope Leo XIV has dedicated an entire encyclical to artificial intelligence. He has done it just three years after ChatGPT was launched, and he has also done it with a unique title: Magnificent Humanitas (2026). A fact: Robert Fracis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV, graduated in mathematics in 1977 from Villanova University in Philadelphia. This encyclical follows a very clear historical line of argument: on many occasions in which a disruptive technology appears, the Vatican adopts the role of “ethical brake” and tries to warn of something relevant: technical and technological advances must be subordinated to human beings. In Magnificent Humanitas the discourse is known and reasonable: warning that large AI companies They will end up imposing their moral vision on the entire planet. It is not just that hyperscalers (Amazon, Microsoft, Google) or companies like OpenAI or Anthropic dominate this market in the commercial section: it is that this dominance also translates into a form of influence that is even more worrying than cinema or television were (and are). The encyclical also warns of how AI is causing a “cognitive displacement” in which human beings end up preferring that algorithms think for them instead of making a reflective effort. The text is very long (40,000 words, which is approximately equivalent to a novel of about 150 pages) and ambitious, and covers many more areas, but the univocal message is that of a warning about the dangers of this technology. If one looks at this entire catalog of papal warnings from a historical perspective, it is impossible not to see the paradox. Most of the technologies that the Vatican once denounced as existential threats ended up, in the end, making the world a better, more prosperous and more connected place. The printing press democratized culture, the Industrial Revolution raised the global standard of living, cinema and television enriched the collective imagination, and biotechnology saves lives. History shows us that these bad omens of the Popes never came to pass completely, but we must be careful. The value of these encyclicals is not in their ability to predict the future, but in their function as ethical counterweights. It’s okay and necessary that someone warns about the risks, because those dangers were and still are real. Image | The Holy See In Xataka | Spain has been a Catholic country for more than 1,500 years. “The Change” now wants to turn it into an evangelical one

Not even God is saved from AI, so the Vatican has gone from the commandments to being the first State to legislate it

May 2, 2026 by usatoday24

Incredible as it may seem, the Vatican is moving faster than most historical institutions in the face of artificial intelligence and everything that is coming our way (and that, in fact, we are already getting a glimpse of), from disinformation to voice and video deepfakes, to the silent erosion of what we understand as reality. An institution that is more than 2,000 years old and old-fashioned is giving a lesson in institutional agility to governments, parliaments and even technology companies that do not know where they are going. And it does not do so from naivety, but from a firm and concrete theological conviction: that human dignity is not negotiable, not even in the face of a language model with a billion parameters. It has taken the EU years to approve its AI Act and even so it was a pioneer, but big tech in general is behaving like the tobacco industry by self-regulating tobacco. In this scenario, the Holy See has had internal directions in force for months, alliances in cybersecurity and a pope who has already said that AI cannot preach faith. The Vatican’s position. In addition to prohibiting the use of AI to write sermons, last February Pope Leo XIV asked the priesthood do not look for “likes” on social networks. A year earlier, the Vatican had issued one of the world’s first regulatory frameworks on AI demanding ethics, transparency and putting humans at the center Thus, Vatican policy establishes that technology “should never surpass or replace human beings” and must be at the service of human dignity. And it is not something new: the previous Pope Francis already laid the foundations in his Laudato Si’ of 2015, but applied to the digital world. Why it is important. Because the Holy See is moving more and better than the bulk of traditional institutions to establish norms and safeguards against disinformation generated by AI. While the EU approved its legislative framework as a bloc, the Vatican has been the first individual sovereign State to have immediate compliance guidelines for its administration, ahead of powers such as the United States or China. By positioning itself as a moral authority, it seeks to fill the regulatory and ethical void that technology companies have left open. This positioning has real institutional weight: the Vatican operates as a diplomatic actor with permanent observer status at the UN and relations with more than 180 states, which allows it to project its ethical standards beyond the religious sphere, in a space where neither governments nor technology companies have achieved global consensus. Context. We have already seen that the movement is not something sudden or improvised and that the Vatican’s position has been brewing for years. In fact, it is the evolution of the “Rome Call for AI Ethics“, a historical (but voluntary) document where the Vatican managed to get giants such as Microsoft, IBM and Cisco will sign a commitment to develop technologies that respect privacy and inclusion The current geopolitical context, marked by cyberattacks and the use of deepfakes in conflicts, has forced the Holy See to accelerate its cybersecurity partnerships and establish monitoring within Vatican City itself to protect its information sovereignty. At a regulatory level, the Vatican is not going it alone: the Holy See’s approach is complementary to that of the AI Act: the EU regulates by law and the Vatican provides the moral authority and ethical principles of universal application, something that cannot be legislated. Retail. The Vatican’s regulatory framework focuses on both technical security and the social impact that algorithms have and seriously warns about the risk of a new inequality gap: between those who control AI and those who are controlled by it. The Vatican has established formal cybersecurity alliances with simultaneous focus on defense, diplomacy and ethics. The internal guidelines They prohibit AI that manipulates people, generates discrimination or compromises institutional integrity and there are specific safeguards on data. In Xataka | “AI will never be able to preach the faith”: the Pope is asking priests not to use ChatGPT to write their sermons In Xataka | The Vatican, a holy and renewable city: the Pope’s plans to make the small Catholic state more sustainable Cover | Google DeepMind and Julien DI MAJO

There are thousands of more efficient systems to create a “white smoking”. The Vatican refuses for a reason: the Holy Spirit

May 7, 2025 by usatoday24

On October 26, 1958, one of the More Rocambolescas stories Around al smoke that announces The choice of a new Pope. That morning, smoke appeared clearly white leaving the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, and the crowd gathered in the Plaza de San Pedro exploded in jubilation. However, shortly after the smoke became dark, and the faces became disbelief. That confusion stressed the need to improve the clarity of the signal and not leave everything in Holy Spirit hands. A choice between the human and the divine. When the cardinals today enter the Sistine Chapel for Start the conclave, will invoke the Holy Spirit With the song Veni Creator Spiritusan ancestral prayer that summarizes the tension between human reason and spiritual discernment. In Catholic theology, the Holy Spirit It is one of the three people of the Trinity and is considered the true guide of this process. Although the election of the Pope involves politics, strategy and human relations, it also presents itself as a Cooperation with the Divine. Some describe it as a silent presence that guides, does not impose, as a “good educator”, As Benedict XVI saidthat inspires, but does not make decisions for men. Some of it remains in the essence of the final announcement through the white smoke. One thing seems clear: the Church rejects any technification of the moment. The conclave that confused everyone. The unusual scene that we commented at the beginning should choose the successor of Pope Pius XII. That day, during one of the votes, it appeared clearly white smokeHabemus Papam, or so they thought. The people gathered in San Pedro shouted for joy, the bells of the Basilica began to repair and some media came to announce the choice. However, minutes passed, then hours, without the official announcement or the new Pontiff appeared. Finally, the Vatican clarified that he had tried to An error: The white smoke had been the product of incomplete combustion or a poorly calculated mixture, and in reality the consensus necessary to choose potatoes had not yet been reached. The confusion made it clear that some things had to be improved, something that the Vatican corrected in part over time and, since 2005, with the accompaniment of the bell repique to confirm the choice. The language of smoke. It is part of the ritual: every time the Catholic Church chooses a new Pope, millions of people look towards the small chimney from the Sistine Chapel Waiting for the signal: Black smoke if there is no agreement, white smoke if the successor has been chosen. What seems like a simple symbolic gesture is, in reality, a Extremely precise operation and loaded with engineering, chemistry, symbolism and tradition. Burning ballots and the use of smoke as a form of communication They date back to the fifteenth centurywhen a way to transmit the result of the choice without breaking the secret of the conclave. The image of smoke ascending to heaven evokes ancient religious and biblical rites, where smoke was understood as a spiritual bridge between the human and the divine. Preparations and technology. After the Death of Pope Francis At 88, the Vatican confirmed that The conclave It would begin today May 7 with a special mass in San Pedro, followed by secret votes in the Sistine Chapel. There have been installed Two stoves: One to burn ballots and another to generate the visible smoke. These stoves are connected through A metallic ductcarefully assembled and inserted by technicians who work without damaging the Renaissance structure of the chapel. Each tube union is sealed, previous smoke tests are carried out and firefighters are available in alert in case any technical failure occurs. Everything must work without error margin: an escape or an ambiguous signal would turn the liturgical act into a global crisis broadcast live. The 1958 example does not forget. The chemistry of the message. To ensure that the world clearly sees what happens within the conclave, smoke is not exclusive product of ballot combustion. The BBC counted that chemical compounds packaged and electronically activated are used. To generate black smoke, potassium, anthracene and sulfur perchlorate is mixed, and for white, potassium, lactose and pine resin is used. In the past He tried with wet and dry strawbut the results were inconsistent. Since 2005, the Vatican also sounds like those bells of San Pedro to visually and loudly confirm that a new pontiff has been chosen, avoiding confusion such as those that have occurred in the past. Negative to modernize. The truth is that the system could be much easier if the Church would like to take advantage of some of the new technologies. However, despite the advances and suggestions of implementing colored lights, digital alerts or more modern electronic systems, the Vatican insists on Keep the ritual as it is. If you want and from your perspective, for your excellence it is not just about communicating a news, but about preserving a liturgical experience with deep theological burden. As The historian Candida Moss explainedthe smoke not only informs: it incorporates the faithful to the mystery, makes them feel participants of a transcendental moment in the life of the Church. The papal choice is not (alone) an administrative event, but a ceremony full of centuries of faith, solemnity and spiritual continuity. Image | blues_brotherWikimedia In Xataka | Just before locking themselves in the conclave, the cardinals have done one last thing in the Vatican: to give a binge In Xataka | Francisco I has died, so the most strange and fascinating ritual of the Church begins: the funeral of a Pope

Pope Francis made his opinion clear about the medical ethics of the end of life. The one we do not know is that of the Vatican

March 7, 2025 by usatoday24

With Pope Francis in the hospital, he already hopes to know how the respiratory crisis evolves in the midst of his hospitalization for pneumonia, many things have stopped in the Vatican. The Holy City and “Renewable”For example. The Pontiff’s plans to make the small Catholic state more sustainable have remained in Stand By. Controversial issues have also been revived that have always been on the table. Without going any further, Francisco’s possible final. An unavoidable question. I told it a few days ago The New York Times Bringing a topic that the Vatican has preferred to avoid: What happens when a pontiff faces a prolonged deterioration of his health, loses his faculties and approaches at the end of his life? At 88, Francisco has spoken in the past about ethics in medical decision making in terminal cases, but has never revealed its own preferences in this regard. Although He left a letter of resignation in the Vatican in case of disability, its content is unknown and it is not known if you have designated someone to make medical decisions in their name. The silence of the “house.” The Vatican, faithful to his tradition of secrecy, has replied that “It’s too soon” To discuss these issues, despite the growing concern within the Church. Meanwhile, medical bulletins have also been prudent, informing that the Pope’s condition It remains stable And that, after its respiratory crisis, has been able to do without mechanical ventilation (He has even spoken). Be that as it may, uncertainty persists and the lack of a public protocol on how to manage the end of the life of a pontiff is sufficient reason for debate between theologians and ecclesiastical experts. The moral dilemma. The Catholic Church teaches that life must be defended From conception to natural death. However, within the doctrine there is a margin of interpretation When it is legitimate to stop prolonging it artificially. According to the Magisterium of the Church, the Use of “Extraordinary Media” To keep a patient alive, they can be suspended if they suppose disproportionate suffering or do not offer real improvement. The problem is that there is no clear definition of what constitutes an extraordinary medium, which leaves space for various interpretations within the Catholic clergy and bioethics.

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