Religion News Service

Technology, detached from ethics and responsibility, will make wartime decisions about life and death more rapid and impersonal, the pope writes in the final chapter of Magnifica Humanitas.

"I am sick and tired of waking up every morning to see another loved one is dead," said Charlene Walker, head of Faith in New Jersey.

On his tour of the U.S., Fr. Mattia Ferrari has heard from many immigrants experiencing fear, family separation and even detention: "They are suffering something that is completely unfair, completely unjust."

"Catholic social teaching has always emphasized the protection of workers, so it is no surprise that Leo gives space in his encyclical to the impact of robots and AI on workers," writes Thomas Reese.

"We Americans must realize that when we punish Cuba, we do not punish only the government," writes Jesuit Fr. Jeffrey von Arx. "We punish the most vulnerable." 

Videos imitating 'church fathers,' bishops and theologians who helped shape early Christianity, have been popping up across social media since late 2025. Several have drawn hundreds of thousands of views.

Fr. Tom Reese continues his analysis of Magnifica Humanitas with Chapter 3, in which Pope Leo XIV applies Catholic social teaching to modern digital technology, arguing that AI should respect human dignity.

"Our churches, our mosques, our synagogues, our places of worship will become democracy hubs," said Minister JaNaé Bates Imari, co-executive director of the interfaith group ISAIAH Minnesota.

Ordinary families are being asked to carry the costs of an energy system that enriches a few while leaving communities everywhere vulnerable to conflict, instability and rising prices. 

Despite the fact that many Venezuelan faith leaders have been themselves impacted by the ongoing disaster, they’ve sprung into action to provide food, psychological support and other basic needs to the large population of victims.

On the anniversary of a Supreme Court ruling reinstating the U.S. death penalty, faith leaders join calls for an end to the death penalty. But religion has also been present in support for capital punishment.

Spielberg's 'Disclosure Day' asks: If intelligent life were to be discovered beyond Earth, would it shatter religious traditions? Most faith practitioners say no.

Chapter 2 of Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, might be called the official "CliffsNotes" version of Catholic social teaching.

Completing a pilgrimage from the Texas site of a World War II internment camp, interfaith activists said history is repeating itself at the nation's only family detention facility.

Those who reject papal authority are already out the door. The women who have given up hoping for change are on the way out, too, writes Phyllis Zagano.

U.S. Republican administrations have long seen faith groups as a cornerstone for humanitarian aid and community trust as they push for regime change in Cuba.

"Catholic social teaching is not a collection of eternal principles that can be applied in every historical context," writes Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese. "It evolves in dialogue with the times."

While the long-term future of the deportees remains uncertain, one faith leader said people of faith have a responsibility to welcome those who have lost their homes and communities.

A new poll by PRRI shows two-thirds of Americans still prefer a nation made of many different faiths, despite the growth of Christian nationalism in the public square.