reflections, updates and homilies from Deacon Mike Talbot inspired by the following words from my ordination: Receive the Gospel of Christ whose herald you have become. Believe what you read, teach what you believe and practice what you teach...
Cardinal Cupich: Pope's encyclical 'a new lens' for Church's Social Doctrine
In an interview with Vatican News, the Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, says Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical 'Magnifica humanitas' recognizes that "new technology has the potential to overtake our capacity to control it, and the Pope is giving us a wake-up call to seize this moment with urgency."
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“This document provides us with a new lens to read the entire Social Doctrine of the Church.”
In an interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, reflected on Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.
The Cardinal discussed the Pope’s warning against technological self-sufficiency, the social implications of artificial intelligence, and the relevance of Catholic social teaching in the digital age.
Cardinal Cupich, what do you see as the significance of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas?
The document’s principal contribution comes in the Holy Father’s challenge to humanity to make a choice: either to build the new Jerusalem or another Tower of Babel.
The first image is anchored in the story of the prophet Nehemiah, who brings families together after the exile. As the Pope writes, Nehemiah “assigned each of them a section of the wall to rebuild, listened to their concerns, coordinated their efforts and addressed any opposition.” This city comes to birth not through the initiative of one powerful individual, but through “the shared responsibility of all: men, women, priests, artisans, heads of households and young people all play a part. It is an undertaking with God at the center, which rebuilds relationships before rebuilding with stones.”
This is a harmony that arises when people assume their proper role and recognize that their strength comes from the Lord.
The Tower of Babel, on the other hand, represents a city aspiring to reach heaven without God’s blessing. Built on pride and claims of self-sufficiency, communication breaks down, and people no longer understand one another.
Chicago is globally recognized as a center of business, technology, innovation, and industry. What reaction are you seeing to this text, which also engages the tech world and calls for safeguarding humanity in the age of artificial intelligence?
The first news reports in Chicago focused on the reactions of university students, and we need to listen carefully to them because this new technology will have profound consequences for their future.
From those interviewed, students were very laudatory of the Holy Father and expressed a keen interest in reading the document.
Which of Pope Leo’s concerns in the text resonates most with you? What would you most like people in your Archdiocese to take away from it?
This document provides us with a new lens through which to read the entire Social Doctrine of the Church. The Pope makes this clear in the first chapter, where he offers a brilliant review of the initiatives of the Popes since Leo XIII. Pope Leo XIV is clear that this is Church doctrine and not simply a body of teaching that Catholics may choose to accept or ignore.
Thinking of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum, which Pope Leo XIV frequently references, do you believe the digital revolution can be compared, in terms of its scale and impact, to the Industrial Revolution?
There are similarities, but there are also important differences.
This new technology has the potential to overtake our capacity to control it, and the Pope is giving us a wake-up call to seize this moment with urgency.
Archbishop Hicks of New York: 'Magnifica humanitas' to shape future generations
In an interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York calls Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical 'Magnifica humanitas' essential for generations to come and insists that Pope Leo is raising the right issues, especially on the transforming nature of work, as young people of his Archdiocese ask: 'Am I studying for a career that won't exist in 10 years?'
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
"I feel that the Holy Father has his finger on the pulse of the real issues of what's going on in this world. He's addressing them. AI is here to stay"
In an interview with Vatican News following Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Archbishop Ronald Hicks of New York expressed this, as he welcomed the Holy Father’s decision to address AI early in his pontificate.
Describing Magnifica humanitasas “timely,” “relevant,” and essential for generations to come, the Archbishop of New York recognizes that artificial intelligence is here to stay and praises Pope Leo for confronting the issue directly and working to ensure technological development remains rooted in human dignity and the common good.
He expresses his gratitude to the Holy Father "for giving us in such an early stage of his pontificate, something like this, of substance and something that's relevant and needed."
Archbishop Hicks, what do you see as the significance of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas?
First of all, I'm really grateful for this encyclical. I feel that the Holy Father has his finger on the pulse of the real issues of what's going on in this world. He's addressing them. AI is here to stay, and it's something that everyone is talking about. I think our Holy Father, from the very beginning, he's demonstrating that as a Church, we're going to engage in the world and we're going to engage in real topics. This is a timely issue. This is a relevant issue. What I also appreciate about what he's set up in this encyclical is that he's taking dialogue seriously. He wants to have conversations around AI and what's the best way to use it. He's not saying, let's just hide from it and let's pretend it doesn't exist. He's saying it does exist, but where is there going to be some ethical governance; where is there going to be some shared responsibility; where's there going to be the cooperation in actually how we use AI for the common good. I'm not only grateful, I'm really excited about this encyclical. I think the world needs it. It's being very well received. I can't wait for us to continue with this dialogue in this conversation with each other about it.
Right. Pope Leo certainly is not fearful of technology. He has a passion for mathematics. He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics... You are the Archbishop of New York, a city often seen as a center of power, business, technology, and innovation. What reaction are you seeing to this text, which also engages industry and calls for safeguarding humanity in the age of artificial intelligence?
I have heard and seen nothing but a sense of openness, acceptance, gratefulness, of receiving this encyclical from the Holy Father. Everyone is saying that there are so many things that we don't understand about AI. So let's start talking about it, and the fact that the Holy Father himself, and that the Catholic Church is in the center of this. Even people who aren't practicing faithful Catholics are engaged in this conversation. It is a very welcome and open conversation that's happening. And I think people want to ask those questions: Are we just going to let AI drive itself? Are we just going to let it be controlled by a few people only to be profit driven? Or can it be used for the good of the world, for the good of humanity?
I also like that in the encyclical that Pope Leo is really reflecting on what does it mean to be human. In a world that is growing with more sophistication in technology and in the ways that AI can act, I think there are some good questions being posed on what does it mean to be human? It's being embraced by everyone because at the end of the day, we're all human. We're all in this game together and I hope all of our hearts are united and we want to promote that human dignity for all. There are so many things contained in this beautifully dense text.
Which of Pope Leo’s concerns expressed in the text resonates most with you? What would you like to see people take away from it, even in your Archdiocese?
I think sometimes we want to reduce it to a couple of sound bites. Yet I think it's one of those documents, one of those encyclicals, that we should sit with, discern over, pray with, and talk about and reflect. To your question, what's something that really popped for me? I think that's [how he] connects in this world. He has a part there about how is AI going to affect the job market. I listened to our young adults, our young people, and this topic of AI is very, very much at the center of their concerns, of what they're thinking about, what they're worrying.
Young people are asking the question, am I studying for something right now, for a job, for a career that's not going to exist in the next decade or so because AI is going to take it over? There's a worry, there's a concern, and they're looking for some direction also. I think this encyclical gives us a very practical roadmap to even how to address some of those very practical issues that people of all ages are looking at.
Thinking of Pope Leo XIII’s Rerum novarum, which Pope Leo references repeatedly, do you truly believe that the digital revolution can be compared, in terms of the scale of its impact, to the Industrial Revolution?
You said it very well, and there's a direct correlation with Rerum novarum, that industrial revolution, changed the entire world. And when you think about how it changed the job market, people were concerned, are there going to be any human dignity in the work that we do, in the jobs that we have? Are we just going to be turned into profit driven slaves or robots? Those things needed to be addressed in the Industrial Revolution. Rerum novarum did exactly that.
I think this encyclical, for decades and generations to come is going to be used in a similar way. AI is here to stay. It's here to stay. It's going to change everything. I think we're going to ask some of the same questions. Is it only going to be profit driven, or is there going to be something that we look at for the good of humanity so that we're not just slaves and robots to profit? But how is it going to affect the common good? So your point is well taken. There's a direct correlation to Rerum novarum. And I think this particular encyclical by Pope Leo is going to be highly significant for so many generations to come.
Archbishop Hicks, Magnifica humanitas is a social encyclical. Is there any aspect of it that you believe is especially important for the Church's pastoral mission as well? We've heard often that even during the presentation where Pope Leo presented the document himself that it's an encyclical not only on artificial intelligence, but it is on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence. How is this important to the church's pastoral mission from your point of view?
Absolutely. You're so correct in saying that at the end of the day, the encyclical asks what does it mean to be human? And for the Catholic Church, we're obviously going to embrace that as part of our message and our mission. Jesus himself calls us to be fully human for Jesus who came, who was fully human and fully divine. And he wants us to share in that eternal life with him and have a reflection of of the life of Jesus in all of our lives. This encyclical is directly connected to that. How do we relate to each other? What does it mean to be human? How do we see the face of God in each other in creation, and see our brothers and sisters in each other's faces? Those are all things that are are connected to our humanity, which is part of the teaching of the Church and part of the mission of the Church. AI is going to affect all of that. So as Pope Leo connects the two together, I think it's timely, I think it's relevant, and we certainly need it. And it's going to be used for for such a long time.
Anything else you would like to add, Archbishop?
I just want to express my gratitude to the Holy Father for giving us in such an early stage of his pontificate, something like this, of substance and something that's relevant and needed. It's I'm grateful for his leadership, and I look forward to where the conversations go and some of the decisions go because of it. He's helping to shape what the world looks like. And he's doing so within the context of Catholic social teaching and also the mission of the Church, which comes from Jesus Christ. I am really grateful to the Holy Father.
Pope to bishops: Church's fruitfulness should not be based on numbers
In an audience with members of the Italian Episcopal Conference at the conclusion of their 82nd General Assembly, Pope Leo urges a “focus on the essential” and keeping the priority on the Gospel, which “awakens us” in today’s world “marked by complexity.”
Vatican News
Meeting with participants in the 82nd General Assembly of the Italian Bishops' Conference in the Vatican today, Pope Leo XIV expressed his affection to “all the Churches throughout Italy, to the priests, deacons, consecrated persons, families…and also to those who, perhaps without realizing it, carry in their hearts a thirst for God.”
This gift, he continued, is something he has had the grace to witness “even in a time like ours, marked by complexity.” The Pope explained he saw it firsthand on his trips to Pompeii, Naples, and Acerra.
Pope Leo added that there are many signs that reveal tiredness, fragmentation, and loneliness in people's lives. Sometimes, in communities, people can feel the challenge of passing on the faith and engaging younger generations. Yet, the Pope stressed, “the Gospel awakens us.”
The harvest is abundant
Continuing his greeting, Pope Leo reflected on a verse from Luke's Gospel - “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
As a tireless Sower, God enters the world day after day and “scatters” on people’s hearts the desire for the infinite, “for a life fulfilled, for a salvation that sets free.” Pope Leo noted that it is thanks to God the harvest is abundant. Our task, he said, is to take the Lord’s gaze and make it our own.
The Pope urged focusing on what is "essential", not the numbers (@Vatican Media)
We are not meant to merely “complain about hardened soil or dwell only on statistics.” Rather, the Pope stressed, we are called to “know how to see, with the eyes of the Risen Christ,” the harvest God is preparing for us.
Speaking directly to the Italian bishops, Pope Leo prayed that the Holy Spirit will bestow upon them hearts that are on fire with “the zeal of Christ”, and that many workers will work “alongside us.”
The priority is the Gospel
Keeping this in mind, “the priority is the Gospel”, the Pope explained. This is a thread that has run throughout the entire history of the Church—from St. Francis of Assisi to St. Paul VI to Pope Francis. Faith is born from the Gospel, “as a living encounter with Christ, dead and risen, present in His Church.”
In today’s world, Pope Leo noted that bringing the Gospel back to the center “is both the gift that gives enthusiasm to our lives as Bishops and the urgency that drives us onward.”
As a result, the bishops must ask themselves these two questions:
1. What face of God do we allow to shine through in our preaching, catechesis, liturgy, charity, and in the life of our communities?
2. How do we foster an encounter with Christ, and what does it mean today, for us and for our Churches, to initiate others into the Christian life?
Pastors, the Pope urged, should always themselves these questions, “never taking the answers for granted.”
Handing on the faith
This is where a renewed attention to the Christian tradition is important, but one which is more than just preparation for the Sacraments. The Sacraments are the “womb” in which a community “gives birth to faith and introduces people into the Paschal life, into communion with the Lord, into ecclesial fraternity.”
It is in living and welcoming communities that the faith can be handed on and grow. It is in the communities that listen and pray, that keep the Eucharist as “the source and summit”, that see the poor as brothers and sisters, and where families are not left behind.
For this purpose, bishops are called to be deep listeners to the Word of God, the People of God, and the signs of the times. When genuine listening is present, the community does not turn inward. Rather, it grows into a place of mission and discernment and therefore, knows how to renew itself.
This is what the Synodal Journey means. “A synodal Church is one in which each person, according to his or her vocation, can offer the gift received from the Spirit for the common building up,” Pope Leo highlighted.
That means participation is not optional. Rather, it is a “requirement of communion and mission and must therefore become method, responsibility, and accountability.”
Not based on numbers
The Pope stressed that God does not ask us to measure the fruitfulness of the Church according to numbers, visibility, or influence.
Instead, he urged the bishops to “have the courage to focus on what is essential.” The focus should be on an ongoing initiation and formation in Christian life, welcoming and missionary parishes where families can gather, and listening to young people without limiting their questions, among others.
Closing, Pope Leo entrusted the Italian bishops’ journey to Mary, the Mother of the Church. “May she help you to be ‘rooted and built up in Him, steadfast in the faith’ (Col 2:7), to safeguard what is essential, to generate faith, to walk with the People of God, and to recognize the voice of the Lord who still calls, consoles, and sends forth.”
Pope to lead worldwide Rosary for peace in Vatican Gardens
Accompanying his repeated calls for an end to war, Pope Leo XIV will preside over the recitation of the Holy Rosary on May 30 in the Vatican Gardens, with each decade dedicated to people impacted by war—from families torn apart to medical personnel and volunteers.
Vatican News
Pope Leo XIV has appealed for peace in the world throughout his pontificate. His appeals have been accompanied with consistent calls for prayer.
For that reason, the Pope will preside over the recitation of the Holy Rosary at the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens on Saturday, May 30, at 7:00 pm, at the conclusion of the Marian month.
All people and all Shrines around the world are invited to join him in praying the Rosary.
Some of the major Shrines which have confirmed their participation include: the Shrine of the Mother of God (Zarvanytsia, Ukraine); the International Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage (Antipolo, Philippines); the Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary (Fatima, Portugal); the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace (Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina); the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes (Lourdes, France); the Shrine of Saint Charbel Annaya (Byblos, Lebanon); and the Pontifical Shrine of the Holy House of Loreto (Loreto, Italy).
Pope Leo will pray the Joyful Mysteries, with each decade being dedicated specifically for those affected by war and violence and entrusting them to the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace.
The first mystery prays for the victims of war, especially the most vulnerable, while the second is for those who bring words of hope and the comfort of faith to populations affected by war. The third recalls the medical and paramedical personnel and volunteers who bring humanitarian aid every day.
The fourth mystery prays for those who suffer the violence of war, for prisoners and for all who endure humiliations that violate human dignity. The fifth and final Joyful Mystery is dedicated to praying for an end to war and the establishment of lasting peace in the world.
Pilgrims and faithful in Rome will also be able to take part in the prayer from St. Peter’s Square through the large screens installed in there.
The initiative is promoted by the Dicastery for Evangelization – Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World.
Feastday: May 28 Patron: of mountaineers, skiers, the Alps Birth: 923 Death: 1008
Bernard of Montjoux was probably born in Italy. He became a priest, was made Vicar General of Aosta, and spent more than four decades doing missionary work in the Alps. He built schools and churches in the diocese but is especially remembered for two Alpine hospices he built to aid lost travelers in the mountain passes named Great and Little Bernard, after him. The men who ran them in time became Augustinian canons regular and built a monastery. The Order continued into the twentieth century. He was proclaimed the patron saint of Alpinists and mountain climbers by Pope Pius XI in 1923. He is sometimes fallaciously referred to as Bernard of Menthon and the son of Count Richard of Menthon, which he was not. His feast day is May 28th.
Bernard became patron and protector of skiers because of his four decades spent in missionary work throughout the Alps.
Pope Leo XIV decries recent intensification of attacks in Ukraine
During his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo XIV appeals for peace following the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine, stressing that war does not solve problems; it worsens them, for “wherever missiles and drones fall, hopes also collapse; homes and places of worship are destroyed, and innocent lives are shattered.”
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“I follow with concern the war in Ukraine, which has sharply intensified in recent days. I wish to express my closeness to all those suffering because of the recent attacks, including those against civilians.”
Pope Leo XIV gave this reassurance at the conclusion of his Wednesday General Audience on May 27, following a new wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine.
“War,” the Pope appealed, “does not solve problems; it worsens them. It does not build security but multiplies suffering and hatred.”
“Wherever missiles and drones fall, hopes also collapse; homes and places of worship are destroyed, and innocent lives are shattered,” he said, entrusting all peoples wounded by war to the protection of the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace.
Words of comfort and faith for Lebanese faithful
As new attacks strike Lebanon, the Holy Father also gave special greetings to Lebanese pilgrims when addressing Arabic and French-speaking faithful during the audience.
"Mary, our Mother," he said, "is always present with us, praying for us, and caring for us with maternal love."
"May the Lord," Pope Leo said, "bless you all and always protect you from every evil!"
A 'thank you' to all mothers, also for teaching their children to love God
Finally, addressing Polish pilgrims, Pope Leo XIV thanked mothers as he recalled that Poland celebrated Mother’s Day yesterday.
“I thank all mothers who have generously passed on the gift of life and care for their children, teaching them love for God and for their neighbor,” he said.
The Pope prayed that the Holy Mother of God would intercede for them “so that they may obtain the grace of a lasting bond with Jesus.”
"With her help," the Holy Father urged Poles to protect in their homeland "the life of every person from conception to natural death. I bless you all!"
Pope at Audience: Liturgical tradition and renewal drive evangelization
During his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV reflects on Vatican II's 1963 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and emphasizes the importance of liturgical progress that also preserves sound tradition.
By Isabella H. de Carvalho
Renewing the liturgy and allowing it to progress, while preserving tradition, allows the Church to grow, be united and continue her mission of spreading the Gospel to all, Pope Leo XIV said during the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on May 27.
Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis series on the Documents of the Second Vatican Council and reflected on the 1963 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,Sacrosanctum Concilium. He focused especially on liturgy through the perspective of tradition and development.
Sacrosanctum Concilium was the first text to be promulgated at the Second Vatican Council and brought about important changes to the liturgy, such as allowing it to be celebrated in vernacular languages and encouraging a more active participation of the faithful.
In his address, the Pope highlighted that the liturgy has “been, for centuries, a driving force for evangelization."
“Today, this energy must be renewed in continuity with the authentic and living Catholic tradition, that is, in accordance with a dynamic aimed at introducing believers to the fullness of the truth.”
In this sense, the Pope especially urged priests “who exercise the ministry of liturgical presidency, to always uphold that respect for the texts and regulations of the liturgy which springs from an inner attitude of openness and trust in God, manifesting humility before His greatness and sincere fidelity to ecclesial communion.”
The close bond between liturgical renewal and the Church’s renewal
Pope Leo XIV had begun his catechesis by citing his predecessor Venerable Pius XII, who writes that the Church is “a living organism” that – also in respect of the liturgy – “grows, matures, develops, adapts and accommodates herself to temporal needs”
The Pope noted that, according to this principle, Sacrosanctum Concilium recognized in its introduction the necessity of reforming the liturgy in order to adapt to the needs of the times and “impart an ever-increasing vigor to the Christian life of the faithful.”
“At that moment in history, there was a strong sense of the need for a renewal of the ritual forms through which, for centuries, the Church had glorified God and sanctified the Christian people,” the Pope explained.
Thanks to the Liturgical Movement, which led this push, the conviction matured that “a very close and organic bond exists between the renewal of the liturgy and the renewal of the whole life of the Church. The Church not only acts but also expresses herself in the liturgy, lives by the liturgy and draws from the liturgy the strength for her life,” the Pope continued, citing his predecessor Pope John Paul II.
A progress rooted in Tradition
Pope Leo XIV pointed out that Sacrosanctum Concilium also offered a roadmap for liturgical renewal as to encourage the access of the faithful to the richness of the liturgy, sound tradition should be retained while also allowing the developments to stay open to legitimate progress.
To explain this, the Pope also cited his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI who underlined that “tradition and progress are often clumsily opposed”, whereas “actually, the two concepts merge: tradition is a living reality, which therefore includes in itself the principle of development, of progress.”
“The Council affirms the legitimacy of this progress, rooted in authentic Tradition, distinguishing within the liturgy ‘immutable elements, divinely instituted’,” from others that can be subject to change, the Pope insisted.
He added how changes of this type have taken place constantly over the centuries to allow the faithful to participate fully in the liturgy and thus in “the Paschal Mystery of Christ,” the foundation of the Christian faith.
“The Church’s worship has thus been ‘embodied’ in the cultural forms of each age and has been able to influence them and even transform them,” and hence has been a force for evangelization, Pope Leo said.
A progress that fosters communion
The Pope explained how the Council Fathers also emphasized that the revision of the rites, “must be carried out taking care that ‘any new forms adopted should in some way grow organically from forms already existing’” and that, for the good of the Church, every reform must “always be preceded by careful ‘theological, historical and pastoral’ investigation.”
The Council Magisterium thus calls to avoid confusion amongst the faithful, “discouraging anyone from adding, removing or altering anything in liturgical matters on their own initiative,” the Pope continued.
“The progress evoked in the Conciliar Constitution in no way compromises ecclesial communion: rather, it seeks to confirm and foster it,” he concluded.
