{"id":9723,"date":"2026-09-17T21:25:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T21:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/the-uncomplicated-audience-with-leo-xiv-more-connected-but-less-united-the-pope-speaks-on-relationships-networks-and-artificial-intelligence\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T21:37:24","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T21:37:24","slug":"the-uncomplicated-audience-with-leo-xiv-more-connected-but-less-united-the-pope-speaks-on-relationships-networks-and-artificial-intelligence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/the-uncomplicated-audience-with-leo-xiv-more-connected-but-less-united-the-pope-speaks-on-relationships-networks-and-artificial-intelligence\/","title":{"rendered":"The Uncomplicated Audience with Leo XIV | More Connected, but Less United? The Pope Speaks on Relationships, Networks, and Artificial Intelligence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:<\/strong> In the General Audience on September 16, 2026, Pope Leo XIV continued his catechesis on Gaudium et Spes<\/em>. This week he reflected on the human community and warned that while technology can bring us closer, it must not replace personal relationships or the decisions of our conscience.<\/p>\n

We have never had so many ways to communicate. Technology, media, social networks, and artificial intelligence allow us to overcome barriers and distances. But does having more connections mean being truly united?<\/p>\n

In the General Audience on September 16, 2026, Pope Leo XIV dedicated his third catechesis on the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes<\/em><\/a> to the human community. His message was clear: technology can open up possibilities, but no tool can replace the depth of a personal relationship, respect for the dignity of others, or the decisions that belong to the human conscience.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having more contacts doesn’t always mean having community<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Gaudium et Spes<\/em> recognizes that the multiplication of relationships between people is one of the most important aspects of the contemporary world. However, these relationships only reach their fullness when they become a true community of persons and are supported by mutual respect for their spiritual dignity.<\/p>\n

This reflection has become even more urgent. On one hand, technology, media, social networks, and artificial intelligence eliminate barriers and distances. On the other, relationships can become less personal and increasingly virtual. We can be connected without truly meeting one another. The number of connections does not guarantee the quality or depth of our bonds.<\/p>\n

Don’t delegate your conscience to an algorithm<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Pope pointed out a specific danger: getting used to delegating decisions to algorithms that only belong to the human conscience. Artificial intelligence can open new possibilities, but it cannot assume the moral responsibility of a person.<\/p>\n

A tool can process information, but human decision-making requires conscience, responsibility, and respect for the dignity of others. The Christian community wants to contribute precisely to helping social relationships regain real substance and personal depth. Technology should help us relate to one another, not replace our conscience or turn the other person into a piece of data, a screen, or a virtual interaction.<\/p>\n

We are not strangers: we are a family<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Council invites us to find guidance and strength in God’s creative plan, who willed that all human beings form a single family and treat each other as brothers and sisters. Love for God and neighbor is the first and greatest commandment. In Christ, it found its full revelation and complete realization. This perspective changes our way of understanding community. The other is not simply someone who shares our space, belongs to our group, or appears in our feed. They are a brother or sister whose dignity deserves respect, care, and love.<\/p>\n

The person must be at the center<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The development of the person and the development of society are deeply linked. We cannot sacrifice one to achieve the other. A society does not truly improve if it forgets the people who compose it. And a person cannot develop fully by isolating themselves from society. That is why Gaudium et Spes<\/em> affirms that the human person needs social life and must be the principle, the subject, and the end of all social institutions. To put it simply: institutions exist to serve people. People do not exist to become instruments of institutions.<\/p>\n

Diversity is not a threat<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Differences between people and nations should not be seen as a danger. As the Pope explained, diversity can become a possibility for enrichment and growth. Confrontation that turns into violence is born from the power of sin and its influence on our mindsets and actions. Faced with this destructive logic, we need to open ourselves to reciprocity, solidarity, and mutual care.<\/p>\n

The Pope used the image of the different parts of the body: each one is different, but they all need each other. None can tell another that it has no need for it. Unity does not require erasing differences. It requires learning to live them as a shared richness.<\/p>\n

What does it mean to seek the common good?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Gaudium et Spes<\/em> defines the common good as the set of social conditions that allows both groups and individuals to reach their fullest development more easily. It does not simply consist of what benefits the majority. Nor is it limited to the sum of individual interests. Seeking the common good means creating the necessary conditions so that all people can develop fully.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, no group can think only of its own needs. It must also consider the legitimate needs and aspirations of others and the good of the entire human family. We live in an interdependent reality: our decisions affect other people and communities.<\/p>\n

Four very concrete consequences<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Christian vision of the human community is not just a nice theory. The Council points out several practical and urgent consequences.<\/p>\n

1. Always respect the person<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Everything that attacks life, integrity, or human dignity must be rejected. The text mentions homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, voluntary suicide, mutilation, physical or mental torture, psychological pressure, inhuman living conditions, arbitrary detention, deportation, slavery, prostitution, human trafficking, and working conditions that treat the worker as a mere instrument of profit.<\/p>\n

Human dignity cannot depend on the utility or economic benefit that someone can produce.<\/p>\n

2. Respect and love even those who think differently<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The human community also demands respect and love for adversaries and for those who think or act differently than we do. Difference does not automatically turn the other into an enemy.<\/p>\n

3. Eliminate discrimination<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The fundamental equality of all people demands social justice. The Council calls for overcoming and eliminating any discrimination regarding fundamental rights based on sex, race, color, social condition, language, or religion.<\/p>\n

4. Move beyond individualism<\/strong><\/h4>\n

We cannot live thinking only of our own interests. The Council invites us to replace an individualistic mindset with responsibility and participation in building society.<\/p>\n

The future also depends on you<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Humanity understood as a community of persons is one of the great teachings that the Second Vatican Council has left us.<\/p>\n

This vision offers criteria for responsibly evaluating the social and political projects of our time:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • The dignity of the person.<\/li>\n
  • Social justice.<\/li>\n
  • Free participation.<\/li>\n
  • Building the common good.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The future of humanity does not depend solely on institutions, technological advances, or major political decisions.<\/p>\n

    It also depends on the commitment of each person to collaborate with God and with others in building a more human world.<\/p>\n

    Final greetings: turning love into concrete gestures<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    In his greetings to pilgrims of different languages, the Pope invited everyone to be protagonists of fraternity and to turn love into concrete actions of welcome, compassion, and unity. He also recalled the responsibility to care for creation, promote coexistence, respect every person, and work for a more human world.<\/p>\n

    To the Spanish-speaking pilgrims, especially those celebrating the national holidays of various Latin American countries, he invited them to value their homeland’s identity without forgetting that we are part of a larger project: the human family created by God. The Pope also thanked the work of those who serve the most fragile people. He encouraged integrating scientific competence with closeness and an integral vision of the human being.<\/p>\n

    He gave special thanks to prison chaplains for accompanying the lives, dramas, and wounds of those deprived of their liberty, being a living presence of the Gospel and Christian hope.<\/p>\n

    The Cross and Our Lady of Sorrows<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Addressing the young, the sick, and newlyweds, the Pope recalled the celebrations related to the Cross of Christ and the sorrows of the Mother of the Lord. He asked that the Cross of Christ and the example of Our Lady of Sorrows illuminate the lives of young people, sustain the sick in their daily trials, and help newlyweds live a family life consistent with the principles of the Gospel.<\/p>\n

    The idea made simple<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    You can have thousands of connections and still feel far from everyone. Technology, social networks, and artificial intelligence can help us overcome distances, but they cannot replace the depth of a personal relationship or make the decisions that belong to our conscience.<\/p>\n

    Community begins when we stop treating the other as a profile, a piece of data, a tool, or a threat. We are different, but we form a single family. Therefore, building a more human world requires respecting life, eliminating discrimination, caring for others, loving even those who think differently, and participating in the search for the common good. The future of humanity also depends on how you decide to relate to others today.<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Leo XIV reflects on networks, artificial intelligence, and the risk of delegating human conscience decisions to algorithms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":9724,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[350],"tags":[628,629,532,626,531,392,627,391],"class_list":["post-9723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-popes-uncomplicated-audience","tag-algorithms-and-conscience","tag-common-good","tag-gaudium-et-spes","tag-human-community","tag-human-dignity","tag-leo-xiv","tag-social-networks","tag-the-popes-general-audience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9742,"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9723\/revisions\/9742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jarinternacional.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}