Vatican announces ‘disarming technology’ will be theme of next World Day of Peace August 11, 2026By Courtney Mares OSV News Filed Under: Feature, News, Vatican, World News (OSV News) — The Vatican announced Aug. 11 that Pope Leo XIV’s message for the 2027 World Day of Peace will focus on “disarming technology” and political leaders’ moral responsibility. The theme will be “Disarming Technology, Serving Peace. Politics as Preventive Responsibility,” according to the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. “His Holiness wishes to draw attention to the moral responsibility of those called to serve in the public sphere, and he urges all people to uphold the dignity of the human person and to contribute to the building of peace, beginning by ‘disarming technology,'” the dicastery said in a statement. The World Day of Peace is celebrated each year on Jan. 1, the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. The pope provides a message for the occasion, which is sent by the Vatican to foreign governments around the world. Drawing on Pope Leo’s encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” on artificial intelligence ethics and safeguarding the human person, the message will contain a warning of the risks involved in entrusting military decisions to artificial intelligence. The announcement comes after Nobel laureates, inspired by the pope’s encyclical, gathered in Rome July 16 to sign a declaration urging a global treaty banning artificial intelligence from nuclear launch systems. “Pope Leo XIV makes a fervent appeal to the international community to foster shared agreements capable of safeguarding human responsibility and humanitarian principles in situations in which human life and peaceful coexistence among peoples are at stake,” the announcement said. It will be the 60th World Day of Peace, a tradition instituted by Pope Paul VI, inspired by Pope John XXIII’s encyclical “Pacem in Terris.” Read More Vatican News Pope prays for dead, missing following catastrophic mudslides, floods in Nepal Pope Leo appoints Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly to Vatican dicastery To experience true relationship with God in the liturgy, faithful’s participation cannot be passive, pope says Vatican’s top diplomat begins visit to Russia as European leaders flock to Kyiv Pope Leo XIV: See Jesus in the face of every person with disabilities Pope Leo meets Lebanese president; Vatican concerned over border deal implementation Read More Vatican News Pope Leo appoints Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly to Vatican dicastery To experience true relationship with God in the liturgy, faithful’s participation cannot be passive, pope says Vatican’s top diplomat begins visit to Russia as European leaders flock to Kyiv Pope Leo XIV: See Jesus in the face of every person with disabilities Pope Leo meets Lebanese president; Vatican concerned over border deal implementation ‘Prayer is our number one weapon’ against Russian aggression, says papal nuncio to Ukraine Copyright © 2026 OSV News Print
To experience true relationship with God in the liturgy, faithful’s participation cannot be passive, pope says
To experience true relationship with God in the liturgy, faithful’s participation cannot be passive, pope says
