Zac Johnson · May 20, 2026
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV will release his first encyclical: Magnifica Humanitas, "Magnificent Humanity," on the protection of the human person in the age of AI.
He signed it on May 15, exactly 135 years to the day after Pope Leo XIII signed Rerum Novarum, the foundational document of Catholic social teaching, which addressed the moral questions of the Industrial Revolution.
The parallel is intentional. Pope Leo sees AI as this generation's industrial revolution, a technological shift of comparable magnitude, demanding comparably serious moral engagement.
And the response he is modeling is not retreat. The encyclical will be launched at the Vatican alongside the co-founder of a major AI lab, with senior cardinals presenting it.
This is consistent with everything the Church has ever taught about technology. She's never condemned it, not the printing press, not the radio, not the internet. Last year, the Vatican's Antiqua et Nova stated that "technological progress is part of God's plan for creation."
Any technology, AI included, can be directed toward good or evil ends, and the moral responsibility lies with us.
The Catholic method here is the one Christ gave us: judge by the fruits. If using AI is helping you know and live the faith more deeply, use it. If it is making you distracted, dependent, or shallow, stop. That standard applies to AI, and to every technology you have ever encountered.
This is the conviction Truthly was built on. It is good to know the truth. It is good to know the truth faster. If AI helps you know the truth faster, that's a good thing. Clarity brings conviction, and convicted Catholics will change the world.