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Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas is a striking call to make artificial intelligence serve the “human person.” That is a message conservatives can applaud. But the pope’s plan to lean on international bodies — the United Nations and a chorus of global technocrats — is the wrong play if you really want to restrain runaway AI. If the Vatican wants results, it should be talking to President Donald Trump and the American people, not holding a UN pep rally.
Pope Leo is right about the problem — wrong about the fix
The encyclical correctly warns that “so‑called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences… Nor do they have a moral conscience.” That line is gold. Machines have no soul, no sense of duty, and no stake in human flourishing. Saying AI must be rooted in human moral responsibility is common sense, not communion bread for tech elites.
Where the document stumbles is its solution. It asks for negotiated, multilateral rules and leans on international organizations as if they move with the speed and clarity the AI moment demands. The Vatican even invited a tech leader from Anthropic to the rollout, showing it wants industry at the table. Fine — industry should be present. But industry plus slow, diffuse global committees is not a plan that will stop an AI arms race.
The UN is no substitute for executive action
The United Nations is a fine forum for speeches and resolutions. It is terrible at rapid, enforceable action. AI moves in months, not decades. Treaties and UN task forces move in the opposite direction. If you want rules that bite, you need a national authority that can act quickly and be held to account by voters. A president with a clear mandate and a strong executive branch can set and enforce standards in ways a UN resolution cannot.
Why the Vatican should be talking to President Donald Trump
Politics is about power and persuasion. The pope’s encyclical will carry weight among diplomats and scholars. But if the goal is to shape real regulation that governs the labs and the data centers, the decisive lever sits in Washington. President Donald Trump is the man who will help set America’s posture toward AI. Winning his ear and the support of his voters matters far more than persuading a parade of UN ambassadors who have little enforcement muscle.
This is not a call to bend Church teaching to any politician. It’s a practical plea: if the Vatican wants to keep technology servant to the common good, it needs to build coalitions where power actually rests. That means addressing the American people and the White House as much as, if not more than, addressing Geneva and New York.
A clearer, faster path: national leadership, public consent, and tech transparency
The pope’s demand for transparency and human oversight is the right starting point. Now pair that with a plan that can be enforced quickly: national rules, aggressive oversight of the companies, clear red lines on weaponization, and public reporting so citizens know what values are built into these systems. Invite industry to explain what they are doing — and then regulate what they can and cannot do. That’s how you protect human dignity in a hurry.
Magnifica Humanitas has wisdom to offer. But good intentions are not a regulatory strategy. If the Vatican wants to stop AI from running away with our lives, it should stop praying for UN miracles and start engaging where decisions are actually made — in national capitals and especially in the White House. After all, moral clarity needs muscle behind it, and muscle answers to voters, not committees.
