Dear St. Rita Parishioners,

            Continuing our reflections on Magnifica Humanitas, it is good to note that Pope Leo XIV has stated explicitly that his inspiration for his name was Pope Leo XIII, the author of Rerum Novarum (1891), the first papal encyclical in the corpus which we now call Catholic Social Teaching. The phrase “rerum novarum”, literally translated, means “new things,” and in the pattern of papal documents is taken from the first couple of words of the encyclical itself. Did you ever wonder what “new things” Pope Leo XIII was referring to? It is telling that the official Vatican translation of Rerum Novarum translates the phrase not as “new things”, but as “revolutionary change.”

            Leo XIII is referring to the entire upheaval in society surrounding capital and labor, seen “in the vast expansion of industrial pursuits and the marvellous discoveries of science; in the changed relations between masters and workmen; in the enormous fortunes of some few individuals, and the utter poverty of the masses; the increased self reliance and closer mutual combination of the working classes; as also, finally, in the prevailing moral degeneracy” (RR 1). It is, perhaps, difficult for us to imagine a world different (less complex, less interconnected, less international) than the one in which we live, where world events are both readily accessible from your pocket, and about which society expects you to have a clearly defined and reasoned out opinion, lest you be shouted down. And so, while we marvel that humanity went from first accomplishing flight on December 17, 1903 to fighter planes just over decade later in World War I, to landing humans on the moon nearly 66 years later on July 20, 1969, we must not forget that for that to happen, rapid changes in society were also taking place.

            Leo XIII called it the spirit of revolutionary change. If we believe that what the Church established over the course of Christendom has any lasting value, then the spirit of revolutionary change should give us serious pause. What did we change from? What did we change to? Why did we change? Is it better now? There is a reason that the history books call the Middle Ages “the Dark Ages” – it is because they want and need you to believe that things are definitely better now, in the Modern, More Enlightened, Post-Christian Age. And the reason things are better, supposedly, is two-fold: you are no longer oppressed by some celibate (we think) guy in Rome, and, of course, technological advances (aren’t you glad you have toilets that flush??).

            All this is to say that Catholics who were interested in living according to the Gospel had a hugely significant part in shaping the world for centuries, and so it is imperative that the Church, as well as all believing Catholics, engage our world which has tried to “move on” from the supposed dictatorship of the Rome to the dictatorship of relativism, which is really just slavery to your favorite sin. Leo XIV in this new encyclical desires to do just that in the context of what he calls “the res novae [new thing] of our time” (MH 4) – digital technology. Considering “res novae”, however, as something revolutionary helps us to see the reason for the urgency with which the Holy Father is approaching the topic of AI and other digital technologies.

            OK, so where is the Gospel in all of this? It may be tempting to want to hear from the Holy Father solely on spiritual or theological themes, but to demand that he remain aloof from the real concerns of the world would be to relegate spirituality and theology to nice feelings and ideas. When the Holy Father engages the world practically in ways that affect how you and I live, he is exercising a paternal and social role that the world tried to strip from him with the abolishing of the Papal States and the confinement of the Pope’s temporal authority to Vatican City. In other words, to reject the possibility of Catholic Social Teaching outright seems to reject the Pope’s temporal authority. 

            That said, in all of this, we are looking to and for Christ. The purpose of the Church is not to remove all suffering from the world. We are pilgrims on this earth, and we need the Church in order to go to Heaven! The Church’s call to think about the way we approach technology and other revolutionary changes in our world is in fact a call to let go of temporal attachments that we might more readily find Christ. Loving our neighbor is good both for our neighbor and for us! We cannot love God who we do not see if we do not love our neighbor who we do see (cf. 1 Jn 4:20). 

            Unfortunately, however, the spirit of revolutionary change brought about the bloodiest century in human history, and so, anyone with eyes to see knows that all the changes and advances of which you and I are beneficiaries have not made us better people. Only Christ can do that. This is the real invitation of Magnifica Humanitas, that people who recognize the lone voice of the Church calling mankind to goodness and charity will also recognize the Source of Her Wisdom, the One who is Her Bridegroom and Savior, Jesus Himself. 

This pattern is reminiscent of Moses’ words to Israel: “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day?” (Deut 4:7-8). One of the reasons for the righteousness of the law of God was to witness to the nations, that they might know His Glory. Our Lord Himself echoes this in the Sermon on the Mount for the New Israel, the Church: “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Heavenly Father” (Mt 5:16). 

Therefore, our own involvement in the technological advances in society and their implementation in the world and in the government, and our own use of them, must also reflect and be filtered and informed by our Catholic Faith. It is a matter not just of my own soul, but of the souls of those around me. To witness poorly is the sin of scandal – and Our Lord’s condemnation of scandal is great: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea” (Mk 9:42). Remember, too, the parable of the Weeds and the Wheat, which we heard on Sunday a few weeks ago. At the harvest time, “The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth” (Mt 13:41-42 – emphasis mine).

Pope Leo XIV noted that the current technological shift is on some level a “change of era” (MH 6), and so the Church cannot be passive in Her involvement. And while you and I are not necessarily in a position to make policies that will change the direction of all things, we are in a position to solidify our rootedness in the Gospel. In this way, the change that happens around us does not have to disorient us or unsettle us. AI is not the new morality. AI must be subjected to the old morality, and you and I must be the ones to do it, each of us within our own spheres of influence. In the end, revolutionary change has nothing on Jesus Christ. His “res novae”, His revolution, was the definitive conquering of sin and death. Why would we need anything else?

In Christ,

Fr. Christensen