‘Magnifica Humanitas’: A feast of a message needing measured bites

Coming in at 42,000 words, Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” is massive. It’s huge. It is clear-eyed and comprehensive and so chock-full of good stuff that it must be consumed bit-by-bit, like a many-coursed Roman feast — best to go at it slowly, savoring small bites, perhaps even taking a little break between morsels if you hope to make it to the caffe and cannoli.

“Magnifica Humanitas” is long, but it needs to be long, because the topics Pope Leo covers are of immediate and immense import to a world that has all-but forgotten some basic truths: That humanity was created in God’s image and likeness, containing a measure of God’s creativity, spark and genius; that the dignity of the human person is an idea that, throughout history, has grown into something undeniable and of peak importance; that such dignity demands freedom, fair wages, opportunities to work and own property and be both accountable to and served by justice, and that “family is a primary social good.”

The encyclical’s opening chapter is practically a primer on these truths, and on what they mean within settled and emerging Catholic social doctrine.

A year into his pontificate, folks are still trying to figure Leo out — is he more of a Francis or a Benedict or a Paul VI or a Leo XIII? As they wonder, many are jockeying to position their hobbyhorses and agendas at the gate of his teachings, in order to serve their interests, and there is nothing new in that.

What is new? Right now, the whole world is watching this American-born pope, and Leo has rightly seized this moment to re-introduce to some (and clearly define for others) exactly what the Church is, while we’re still paying attention: Here is how she is present; here is what she has promulgated and become and worked toward over the centuries, through popes and saints and councils and turbulent times and her own sickening sins and scandals; here is where we are today and here is why the Church, and her doctrines, are not only relevant but utterly necessary to the times in the face of artificial intelligence, robotics, algorithms, transhumanism and even a threat of post-humanism.

If we are to entertain ideas of what humanity is, what it might become or exactly what helps humanity to become more human (or, conversely, what warps our understanding of ourselves until the world looks so distorted that nothing at all seems real) then Leo’s refresher on Catholic social doctrine is an urgent reminder that human beings have inherent value and dignity beyond their utility. Pope Leo insists within this document that our social teachings are the established and necessary means for framing and understanding these “new realities.”

“I am convinced that the concrete way of living out social relationships in the light of the Gospel … remains a task entrusted, from generation to generation, to the Christian community,” he wrote.

Further, the pontiff declares that humanity needs to be very clear on exactly who we believe we are, and from whence comes our salvation.

“From the perspective of the Church’s Social Doctrine, the key issue is not the use of technology as such, but the vision that underlies it. If the human being is treated as something to be perfected or surpassed,” warns Leo, “it becomes easier to accept that some lives are less useful, less desirable or less worthy. In the name of progress, ‘necessary sacrifices’ may begin to be justified, placing the burden on the most vulnerable in pursuit of a supposed optimization of the species. … For this reason, a clear distinction must be made. It is one thing to integrate technology within a human-centered, relational vision; it is quite another to be guided by an outlook that devalues human limits and promises a purely technical form of ‘salvation.'”

While Leo importantly addresses threats to mental health and genuine human relationships, I appreciate his reminder that the very creative spark we all carry can be threatened by an incautious embrace of AI: “The speed and simplicity … undoubtedly makes life easier.” Yet it can also “weaken personal creativity and judgment.” He adds soon after, “Authentic culture and art preserve this spark, resisting the normalization of evil.”

There are abundant scientific headlines reporting on how beneficial it is for our brains when we write by hand rather than tapping away at keyboards. In the spirit of “Magnifica Humanitas,” why not pick up pad and pen and have a good read, taking notes on all the truth and beauty therein.

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