The World Has Changed Completely as Pope Leo XIV Issues a Major Announcement
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The Vatican will publish an important document relating to artificial intelligence (AI) on 25 May. The document will be the Pope’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, and will address the protection of human dignity in the AI era.
The unveiling, titled Magnifica Humanitas, will see Pope Leo XIV joined by Christopher Olah, one of the founders of the AI company Anthropic.
Olah’s presence at the Vatican is seen as potentially complicating tensions with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, which in February ordered all U.S. government agencies to halt the use of Anthropic’s AI technology. AP News reported on Tuesday, 19 May 2026.
The U.S. government has also imposed sanctions after Anthropic refused to provide unrestricted access to its AI technology to the U.S. military. Anthropic is currently suing the U.S. government, arguing that such action constitutes unlawful retaliation against the company’s efforts to restrict the use of its AI technology.
Pope Leo XIV has made AI a priority since the early days of his pontificate, openly voicing concerns about the use of AI in warfare and urging strict oversight of its deployment.
The release of the encyclical is unusual. While Vatican documents are typically presented in the internal press room, this event will be held formally in the Vatican’s main auditorium, with a number of prominent church figures and academics in attendance.
Two senior Vatican cardinals, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández and Cardinal Michael Czerny, will be the keynote speakers. In addition to Christopher Olah, theologians Anna Rowlands and Leocadie Lushombo will also attend.
The Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, is scheduled to give closing remarks, while Pope Leo XIV will deliver the address and the closing blessing.
Pope Leo XIV signed the document on 15 May, exactly 135 years after Pope Leo XIII published the legendary encyclical Rerum Novarum.
That historic document previously addressed workers’ rights, the limits of capitalism, and the responsibilities of states and corporations toward workers during the Industrial Revolution.
Now, the Vatican regards the AI revolution as posing similar challenges to modern life, including employment, social justice, and world peace.
Anthropic itself was founded in 2021 by Dario Amodei along with several former OpenAI researchers after disagreements with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman concerning AI safety.
The company focuses on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI), an AI technology claimed to surpass human capabilities.
Earlier this year, Anthropic announced its valuation had surged to US$380 billion. The firm now competes with OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI, which is developing the Grok chatbot.