Pope Leo XIV waves to pilgrims gathered for the Mass for the Jubilee of Catechists on Sept. 28, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Sep 29, 2025 / 10:50 am (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV has put a spotlight on the risks of artificial intelligence in his choice of theme for next year’s World Day of Social Communications, as the Vatican emphasizes the important role of Catholics in media and AI literacy.
The pope’s choice of theme for the 60th World Day of Social Communications 2026, published Monday, is “Preserving Human Voices and Faces.” The day is celebrated every year on Jan. 24, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, patron saint of journalists and writers.
The Vatican’s explanatory note emphasizes the risks of AI, including that it “can generate engaging but misleading, manipulative, and harmful information, replicate biases and stereotypes from its training data, and amplify disinformation through simulation of human voices and faces.”
The theme of the World Day of Social Communications was released as the Vatican’s communication department is struggling to stem the tide of “deepfakes,” false images and videos of Pope Leo XIV saying and doing things he did not say or do.
Pope Leo XIV signaled at the beginning of his pontificate that the challenge of AI would be a significant theme of his teaching.
The Vatican announcement on Monday urged the introduction of media and artificial intelligence literacy into educational systems to combat the risk of misinformation.
“As Catholics we can and should give our contribution, so that people — especially youth — acquire the capacity of critical thinking and grow in the freedom of the spirit,” the document says.
The Vatican message underlines that “public communication requires human judgment, not just data patterns.”
“The challenge is to ensure that humanity remains the guiding agent,” it says. “The future of communication must be one where machines serve as tools that connect and facilitate human lives rather than erode the human voice.”
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Pope Francis addresses reporters on Aug. 6, 2023 aboard the papal flight on his return to Rome from his five-day trip to Portugal and World Youth Day. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Rome Newsroom, Aug 6, 2023 / 16:15 pm (CNA).
On his return flight from Wo… […]
Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Angelus reflection on Oct. 6, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media
Vatican City, Oct 6, 2024 / 10:43 am (CNA).
“Be open to the gift of life,” Pope Francis urged married couples in his Sunday Angelus address, in which the pope described a recent encounter with a father of eight children as “a great consolation.”
Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 6, Pope Francis asked couples to reflect on whether their married life is fully open to the gift of children.
“For spouses, it’s essential to be open to the gift of life, to the gift of children. They are the most beautiful fruit of love, the greatest blessing from God, a source of joy and hope for every home and all of society. Have children!” Pope Francis said.
“Dear brothers and sisters, love is demanding, yes, but it is beautiful, and the more we allow ourselves to be involved by it, the more we discover true happiness in it,” he added.
The pope recounted how a member of the Vatican’s Gendarmerie Corps brought his eight children to a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica that the pope presided over on Saturday. Pope Francis described seeing the family as “a great consolation.”
“It was beautiful to see them,” he said. “Please, be open to life, to what God may send you.”
Francis encouraged married Catholics to “ask themselves: How is my love? Is it faithful? Is it generous? Is it creative?”
“How are our families?” Pope Francis added. “Are they open to life, to the gift of children?”
The Catholic Church teaches that all forms of artificial birth control are illicit and forbidden to married couples. This teaching was formalized in 1968 by St. Paul VI, who in his encyclical Humanae Vitae declared that “any action … specifically intended to prevent procreation” was “absolutely excluded” as a lawful means of regulating the number of children in a Catholic marriage.
However, recent data from the federally administered National Survey of Family Growth shows large majorities of Catholics in the United States report using at least one form of artificial contraception — with over 90% having used condoms and more than 60% having used the hormonal birth control pill.
In his Angelus address, the pope offered a reflection on Sunday’s Gospel from the Gospel of Mark in which the Pharisees asked Jesus about whether the law permits divorce.
Pope Francis noted that the Lord’s reply to the Pharisees reminded them of “the demands of love.”
“He reminds them that woman and man were willed by the Creator as equal in dignity and complementary in diversity,” the pope said.
Francis emphasized that the mutual gift of married love is “destined to last not ‘as long as everything goes well’ but forever, accepting each other and living united as ‘one flesh.’”
“Of course, this is not easy,” the pope added. “This requires fidelity, even in difficulties, it requires respect, honesty, simplicity. It requires being open to confrontation … when it is necessary, but also to be always ready to forgive and to be reconciled to the other.”
At the end of his Gospel reflection, Pope Francis asked the Virgin Mary to intercede for Christian spouses, noting the upcoming feast of Our Lady of the Rosary.
An appeal for peace in the Holy Land
Pope Francis noted that he will soon go to the Basilica of St. Mary Major to pray the rosary for peace on the vigil of the anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.
“Tomorrow marks one year since the terror attack on the population in Israel, to whom I once again express my closeness. Let us not forget that there are still many hostages in Gaza. I ask for them to be released immediately,” Pope Francis said.
“Since that day, the Middle East has been plunged into a condition marked by increasing suffering, with destructive military actions continuing to strike the Palestinian people. The people are suffering very much in Gaza and in other territories. Most of them are innocent civilians, all of them are people who must receive all necessary humanitarian aid. I call for an immediate cease-fire on all fronts, including Lebanon. Let us pray for the Lebanese, especially for those who live in the south, who are forced to leave their villages,” he added.
Appealing to the international community to stop “the spiral of revenge” and to prevent attacks “like the one recently carried out by Iran,” Pope Francis underlined the right of all nationals to exist in peace and security.
“Let us unite with the power of good against the diabolical plots of war,” the pope said.
Pilgrims gather in St. Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ Angelus reflection on Oct. 6, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media
21 new cardinals announced
At the end of his Angelus address, Pope Francis surprised the crowd by announcing that he plans to create 21 new cardinals, including the archbishops of Tehran, Tokyo, and Toronto, in a consistory on Dec. 8.
The pope noted that the cardinals-elect reflect “the universality of the Church that continues to announce God’s merciful love to all people.”
“Let us pray for the new cardinals, that in confirming their commitment to Christ, the merciful and faithful high priest, they may assist me in my ministry as the bishop of Rome for the good of the holy people of God.”
Pope Francis speaks to the crowd assembled in St. Peter’s Square on Aug. 15, 2023, for the recitation of the Angelus on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. / Vatican Media
CNA Staff, Aug 15, 2023 / 07:41 am (CNA).
Pope Francis on Tuesday urged the faithful to adopt a “spirit of service,” pointing to the example of the Blessed Mother who went in haste to help her expectant cousin Elizabeth.
The pope spoke to a crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the recitation of the Angelus on the feast of Mary’s assumption into heaven.
In his reflection before leading the Marian prayer, Pope Francis drew on the day’s Gospel reading — Luke’s account of Mary’s Visitation — which the Holy Father said shows the Mother of God to be a “woman of service” to her neighbor.
“Our Lady, who had just conceived, travels almost 150 kilometers [about 93 miles] from Nazareth to reach Elizabeth’s house,” Pope Francis noted. “Helping is costly, to all of us! We always experience this in the fatigue, patience, and worries that taking care of others entails.”
Pilgrims carry a sign in St. Peter’s Square on Aug. 15, 2023, during Pope Francis’ Angelus reflections on the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Vatican Media
The pope warned, however, that “service risks being barren without praise to God.”
“Indeed, when Mary enters the home of her cousin, she praises the Lord,” the pope said. “She does not talk about her weariness from the journey, but rather a song of jubilation springs from her heart. Because those who love God know praise.”
“Let us try to ask ourselves: Do I live my work and daily occupations with a spirit of service, or with selfishness?” the pope said. “Do I devote myself to someone freely, without seeking immediate advantages? In short, do I make service the ‘springboard’ of my life?”
He continued: “And thinking about praise: Do I, like Mary, exult in God? Do I pray, blessing the Lord? And, after praising him, do I spread his joy among the people I meet? Each one of you, try to answer these questions.”
Following the recitation of the Angelus, Francis also offered a customary blessing of the crowd.
“Today, we entrust to Mary assumed into heaven our supplication for peace in Ukraine and in all war-torn regions: There are so many of them, unfortunately,” he said.
“The clamor of weapons drowns out attempts at dialogue; the law of force prevails over the force of law,” he continued. “But let us not be discouraged, let us continue to hope and to pray, because it is God, it is he who guides history. May he listen to us!”
When it comes to junk food, fast food, street food, and AI, one should never lose sight of the principle of Tantum Quantum.