The recent presentation of the first Encyclical by Pope Leo XIV, “Magnifica Humanitas”, opened a space for reflection. The pontifical document, which addresses the care of people in the face of the advance of Artificial Intelligence and Frontier technologies, directly challenges the work of higher education Institutions.
The dean of the Ecclesial Faculty of Theology of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Loreto Moya, and the Doctor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Guillermo Calderón, analyzed the main keys of a text that, in the words of the Holy Father, confronts us with a real “change of time”.
For Dean Moya, this encyclical is very special, since it celebrates 135 years of “Rerum Novarum”: “Pope Leo XIV explains that, just as in 1891 the Church responded to the challenges of the Industrial Revolution, it does the same today with the digital revolution. “Magnifica Humanitas” follows that permanent paradigm of examining the social reality to propose paths of justice under the light of the Gospel. This means that the Pope knows he is referring to a topic that questions our way of relating to one another, of governing, thinking and that is precisely where the value of this encyclical is".
For his part, Guillermo Calderón, member of our Ecclesial Faculty of Theology, highlighted that the focus of the document lied on the inalienable protection of the human being by their sole existence, safeguarding it in the face of mere utility, productivity or economic efficiency criteria.
“Through the biblical images of the Tower of Babel and the rebuilding of Jerusalem by Nehemiah, the text presents us with two paths”, Calderón explained. “Babel symbolizes arrogance, homogenization and technical dehumanization; Jerusalem, in turn, represents shared responsibility, the rebuilding of relationships, and the search for the common good”, he reflected.
Calderón added that the Pope explicitly denounced how the concentration of technological power furthers inequalities. In light of this, Leo XIV proposed a conceptual turn of great magnitude. “The document extends the Principle of the Universal Destination of Goods to immaterial realities such as algorithms, data and patents, strongly questioning transhumanism, which disregards human limits”, he added.
The role of Catholic Universities
The encyclical does not leave the academy indifferent. According to researchers from the Ecclesial Faculty of Theology, it makes a direct call to catholic universities to leave knowledge fragmentation aside and connect knowledge in order to interpret the current complexity.
According to Dean Loreto Moya, “due to the currency of its topic, the encyclical calls all areas of knowledge from our university. All academic disciplines will find in it something to reflect upon, because we are all immersed in this cultural change. The invitation is that we can all read it, comment it and include it in the formative processes of our students”.
“We as universities are called to be watching for significant social changes and look at them critically. Therefore, as a Catholic University, this encyclical is a great opportunity to allow ourselves to be questioned by the topics presented, and in this way, support our society, our students and the university community as a whole to live in a more humane and compassionate way”, he added.
For his part, professor Calderón emphasized that universities must safeguard spaces for intelectual quietness in the face of the digital ecosystem. “We have the challenge of promoting rhythms that include silence, reflective study and careful analysis to protect internal freedom against digital overstimulation”.
He also noted that authorities and researchers must be aware of the fact that their scientific work is not morally neutral, and the goals of their projects must be constantly questioned, to avoid collaborating with logics of violence or dominion.
A dialogue with the wounds of our current world
Finally, both scholars agreed that “Magnifica Humanitas” explicitly connects the digital crisis with socio-environmental and the more urgent geopolitical problems.
The text not only makes the high consumption of water and energy of data centers visible, but only non-visible human realities. “The Pope denounces the ‘invisible work’ of millions of people that label data in precarious conditions, and even child exploitation in mineral extraction for technology”, Guillermo Calderón stated, emphasizing the emphatic condemnation of the Vatican on the development of autonomous weapons and the algorithmic manipulation of truth that debilitates democracy.
By Juan Pablo Guerra and Juan Paulo Roldán
Strategic Communications Department
