Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical ‘Magnifica humanitas’ offers AI developers a valuable anthropological contribution as they design systems with which human beings interact at a deeply personal level, according to Taylor Black, Microsoft’s Director of AI and Venture Ecosystems.

Massive advances in consumer-facing artificial intelligence systems in recent years have led the Church to engage more deeply with companies building the technologies of the future.

That movement has led to criticism of the Church’s engagement with tech companies to help direct the development of AI, as well as to criticism within the tech world of those who dialogue with the Church.

But by pushing religion and theology to an “optional realm,” developers risk missing out on more deeply understanding how their customers think, according to Taylor Black.

Mr. Black serves as the Director of AI and Venture Ecosystems in the Office of the Chief Technology Officer at Microsoft and as the inaugural Director of the Leonum Institute for AI and Emerging Technologies at the Catholic University of America.

These dual roles—along with his deaconal studies for the Byzantine Catholic Eparchy of Phoenix—offer Mr. Black the opportunity to reflect philosophically on the future of AI while helping direct Microsoft’s capital investments in AI start-ups. Speaking to Vatican News in his personal capacity, Mr. Black pointed out that technology has no anthropology or specific view on the human person. Rather, generative or agentic AI products are probabilistic, guessing the next word in a sequence, every action based on data on which it has been trained and the user’s prompt.

The result is that users are co-creating their experiences, and products must be based on a good understanding of the user’s way of thinking. In response to this new tech development paradigm, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education released “Antiqua et nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence”. Then, Pope Leo XIV exercised his papal magisterium with the publication of his first encyclical Magnifica Humanitas.  Both documents seek to apply the Catholic Church’s deep experience and understanding of the human person to the emerging technology of AI. Mr. Black said Pope Leo’s encyclical recognizes that AI can shape its users’ development if they forego critical thinking and accept whatever the AI chatbot proposes without verification. This risk is especially relevant for children, whose prefrontal lobe continues developing into their mid-20s, said Mr. Black.

He gave the example of a parent who leaves their child with a morally dubious adult, who may be very knowledgeable but may also give information the parent would not want their child to have, even if not in a malicious way. In an attempt to be helpful, AI can also change our voice or our face, sometimes pushing our real self to the side in favour of an ideal version.

“It’s forming us in a way that we can assent to if we feel like it,” said Mr. Black. “But again, if we’re children, then we can’t really fully assent to that shaping without our own creative input to it, of our voice, of our way of being in the world, as well as adults can.”

Addressing U.S. Catholic college presidents and rectors, Pope Leo XIV said Catholic education must cultivate not only a love of learning but also a deep passion for Christ, “the Truth,” warning that without this, students will be less prepared to recognize truth and shape their lives accordingly.

“Unless Catholic education instills in students a true passion for the truth — and not only intellectual truth, but the Truth that is Christ Himself (cf. Jn 14:6) — we can hardly expect people to be willing to put forth the effort required to recognize truth and adapt one’s life accordingly.”

Pope Leo XIV made this point on Wednesday morning in the Vatican when addressing a delegation of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities from the United States, in Rome for their 2026 Rome seminar.

The Holy Father underscored that “Catholic institutions are called to be a living environment in which the Christian vision permeates every discipline and every interaction.” 

Encouraging the university presidents and rectors, he said, “Your authenticity as true disciples of Christ will certainly assist you in transmitting the living Gospel in such a way that those entrusted to you can truly encounter the Lord and discover in the Catholic faith the unifying vision that Truth alone can provide.”

The Pope expressed his wish that their hearts “be all the more captivated by the beauty of truth and the grandeur of humanity, created by God and redeemed by Christ.”

The Pope offered the educators words concerning the decisive importance of Catholic education in today’s world in light of the Encyclical Letter Magnifica  humanitas on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence’ published on May 25. First, he observed that the world of education is currently facing is the increasing fragmentation of knowledge. 

While it is easy to find people who are experts in a particular field of study, many of these individuals “struggle to find direction in their lives” and “often lack a global vision of reality that is capable of uniting not only the various fields of knowledge, but also the multiple aspects of life and the inner longings of the human heart.” He said that Catholic education has a particularly significant role to play in this regard.   The Holy Father recognized that young men and women study at colleges and universities to earn a specific degree, oftentimes motivated by future job perspectives, and therefore encouraged educators to embrace their “noble task of guiding that desire for knowledge so that they may also learn to seek and love the truth, to reflect on the meaning of life and to recognize the dignity of every person.” 

Currently President and COO of EWTN News, Maria Montserrat Alvarado will succeed Paolo Ruffini in November, continuing the path of reform and renewal initiated by Pope Francis.

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Maria Montserrat Alvarado, currently President and Chief Operating Officer of EWTN News, as Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, effective from 1 November 2026. Born in Mexico City, Alvarado earned academic degrees from Florida International University and George Washington University. From 2009 to 2023, she held leadership positions at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, serving in initiatives dedicated to the defense of religious freedom and the promotion of human dignity.

Since 2023, she has served as President and Chief Operating Officer of EWTN News, the news division of the Eternal Word Television Network, overseeing international media platforms producing content in seven languages across television, radio, print, digital, and social media.

With the appointment of Alvarado, Pope Leo XIV continues the path of reform and renewal of the Roman Curia initiated by Pope Francis, which has seen lay faithful, men and women, entrusted with positions of leadership and responsibility in the service of the universal Church. Alvarado is the first non-religious woman to be appointed prefect of a dicastery of the Holy See.

Established by Pope Francis on 27 June 2015 as part of the reform of the Roman Curia, the Dicastery for Communication oversees the Holy See’s communications systems, including Vatican News, Vatican Radio, L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican Media (photo, audio & video services), the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican publishing house, the Vatican Printing press, and the Filmoteca Vaticana. In addition to the operational and technological functions assigned to it, the Dicastery also deepens and develops the properly theological and pastoral aspects of the Church’s activity in the field of communication. Alvarado will succeed Paolo Ruffini, whom Pope Francis appointed in 2018 as the first lay prefect of a dicastery of the Roman Curia, who will be 70 next October.

In a statement released following the announcement, Alvarado said: “While this appointment was unexpected, I receive it with a sincere desire to serve the Holy Father as he begins his pontificate. And I am grateful to Paolo Ruffini for his leadership throughout the last years and look forward to continuing, in friendship and hope, the important work of strengthening the dicastery so it may continue to serve the Church in Rome and everywhere to communicate Christ to the world.”

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will gather for the 2026 Spring Plenary Assembly in Orlando, Florida, June 10-12. In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Thursday, June 11. The public portion of the assembly will begin with an address by Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, who will deliver his first remarks as president of the Conference. Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia, the Papal Nuncio to the United States, is also expected to deliver an address to the body of bishops.

The plenary agenda is expected to include votes on a number of action items: Two items pertain to a consultation on causes of beatification and canonization: Monsignor Joseph Francis Buh and John Rick Miller.  The Committee on Divine Worship will also present elements of a new edition of the Lectionary for Mass and the 2025 Roman Missal-Liturgy of the Hours Supplement for approval by the body of bishops.  A revision to the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which was first discussed by bishops in regional meetings in November 2022. Also expected to be addressed at the plenary are updates on the following: Synod implementation and evaluation; The feedback received during the bishops’ fraternal dialogues at the November 2025 plenary about Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship; Catholic prison ministry; World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul, South Korea; The 25th anniversary of the implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesiae in the United States. The presentation is expected to provide a reflection on Pope John Paul II’s apostolic constitution to guide Catholic colleges and universities on theological and pastoral principles.

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. bishops will consecrate the United States of America to the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Thursday, June 11. To prepare for this occasion, the bishops will have time to hear reflections on the Sacred Heart from several of their brother bishops before the special Mass of consecration. The bishops’ live stream event is intended to be a catalyst to encourage parishes and individuals to participate in the America 250 commemoration by contributing to 250 Hours of Adoration and/or 250 Works of Mercy.

The live stream of the public portions of the plenary on June 10 and 11, and the bishops’ Mass consecrating the United States to the Sacred Heart of Jesus will be available at www.usccb.org/meetings.