Pope Leo XIV defended on Friday at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris the dignity of the human person from the mother’s womb until death, warned of the risks of artificial intelligence detached from ethics, and denounced “ideological impositions” and new forms of neocolonialism that seek to standardize peoples.
The visit to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization took place in the afternoon, after the Pontiff’s meeting with Emmanuel Macron and his first address to French authorities at the Élysée Palace. UNESCO was one of the main institutional stops on the first day of Pope Leo XIV’s fifth apostolic journey.
Before representatives of member states, international organizations, academia, and civil society, the Pope posed as the central question that ran through his entire speech: “What does it mean to be human?”
“The human person is someone who is conceived and born”
Pope Leo XIV began his anthropological reflection by recalling that human existence is not a reality produced or chosen by the individual. “The human person is someone who is conceived and born; therefore, to be human means, first of all, to be a child,” he stated.
The Pontiff insisted that none of us chose to be born, nor decided from whom, when, or where. From this fact he drew a moral consequence: if we are all children, “we are all brothers and sisters.”
Against a conception of life as a product subject to criteria of utility, he recalled that every human being is born poor, in need of care, affection, and nourishment both material and spiritual. The forgetting of this reality, he warned, leads to the humanity of the weakest being “betrayed or discarded, exploited or deceived.”
Dignity remains “even until death”
One of the most significant passages of the speech came when addressing human vulnerability and the criterion of efficiency by which contemporary societies may end up measuring the value of persons.
Pope Leo XIV warned of the paradox of attributing “intelligence” to computational systems while it becomes increasingly difficult to recognize “the inalienable dignity of persons, whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when they are considered no longer productive, are rejected and discarded.”
The Pope recalled that this dignity “remains intact in the circumstances of greatest vulnerability, even until death” and stressed that it does not disappear because of illness, suffering, or loss of capacities.
“On the contrary, it demands loving care at every stage of life,” he noted.
Children in the mother’s womb, the measure of respect for human dignity
Toward the end of his address, Pope Leo XIV specified who should serve as the criterion for evaluating whether a society truly respects human dignity.
The Pope expressly mentioned “children in their mothers’ wombs and in the various scenarios of war,” along with persons with physical and intellectual disabilities, the elderly, immigrants, refugees, and those considered unproductive.
“They are the true test of our claims about respect for human dignity,” he stated.
The defense of the unborn thus reappears on the Pontiff’s first French day, after he had reaffirmed before the authorities at the Élysée that the protection of the right to life constitutes “the indispensable foundation of every other human right.”
Artificial intelligence cannot answer the meaning of life
A large part of the speech was also devoted to technological challenges. Pope Leo XIV acknowledged the possibilities of the new tools, but warned against their conversion into instruments of domination or dehumanization.
As he explained, although artificial intelligence systems are capable of correlating enormous amounts of data, “they cannot answer questions about the meaning of human life,” because these are rooted in lived experience.
“Meaning is the oxygen of the mind,” the Pope summarized.
He also warned of the impact of new technologies on communication. Information, he said, is far more abundant today, but that does not mean there is greater wisdom, while faster communication is not necessarily truer.
Pope Leo XIV called for particular attention to children and young people in the digital sphere to prevent their vulnerability from becoming an opportunity for exploitation, and demanded technologies that are subordinated to the growth, education, and freedom of thought of the new generations.
Against “ideological impositions” and neocolonialism
The Pontiff turned to the biblical images of Babel and Pentecost to contrast two models of unity among peoples.
The Tower of Babel, he explained, represents a unity imposed through domination, in which power seeks to standardize and ends up generating division. According to Pope Leo XIV, that temptation remains present in our days.
“Today, the temptation of Babel reappears in a globalization pursued without fraternity, in rapacious forms of neocolonialism, in ideological impositions, and in all those ‘contacts without bonds’ that reduce human life to commerce,” he noted.
Against this logic, he presented Pentecost as the model of a unity that does not destroy cultural differences, but allows them to flourish in harmony.
“It is not the domination of Babel, but the peace of Pentecost, that makes possible this communion among all peoples,” he affirmed.
War, “the most terrible of human works”
Pope Leo XIV also returned to the theme of war, already present in his address to French authorities. At UNESCO he defined it as “the most terrible of ‘human works,’” because it places the advances of science at the service of destruction and death.
He recalled for this purpose the principle contained in the preamble of the UNESCO Constitution: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.”
The Pope warned that science separated from wisdom can become a weapon of destruction; culture subordinated to ideology, propaganda; and education that abandons truth, an instrument for manipulating consciences.
“Every child who is born brings hope with them”
In the final part of the speech, Pope Leo XIV defended the validity of international institutions despite the crisis of trust and effectiveness they are undergoing, and called for renewed trust in dialogue and in the capacity of differences to contribute to the common good.
Against pessimism, he rejected naïve optimism, but claimed a hope founded on the real possibility of good.
“Every child who is born brings hope with them. Every man and every woman who dedicates their life to the search for truth performs an act of hope,” he stated.
The Pontiff also concluded by recalling the “culturally necessary and irreplaceable” role of religious traditions, capable of answering the fundamental questions about the origin, meaning, and destiny of human life.
“We are not walking toward nothingness,” Pope Leo XIV maintained, before asking that education, science, and culture be placed at the service of a humanity aware of belonging to a single family.
Full Address of Pope Leo XIV at UNESCO
Mr. Director-General,
Mr. President of the General Conference,
Mr. President of the Executive Board,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
It gives me great joy to be here today, in this Assembly of the United Nations, where languages and cultures unite to collaborate on a project that concerns the entire human family: “to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms” (UNESCO Constitution, art. 1, para. 1). Building a just world together is, in fact, the very foundation of international cooperation. Our experiences, skills, and competencies aim to create a welcoming space for all and fruitful for each, so that all peoples may grow in peace.
As a witness to peace, I extend my cordial greeting to you, representatives of the Member States and Observers of international organizations, of the academic world and of civil society. I thank Mr. Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of this Organization, for his warm invitation [and for the words he has addressed to us]. As a pastor, I bring you the word of the Church, which becomes an unceasing “message and dialogue” addressed to all peoples, women and men of good will (cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Ecclesiam suam, 34).
The project of building a just world together coincides with a mission we have learned to share throughout history. In this sense, UNESCO represents both a goal and a tool to continue this task today, with even greater commitment, in accordance with our multiple fields of activity. In 2027 we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Holy See’s presence at UNESCO: a presence that arises from the conviction that the future depends, above all, on respect for and the promotion of the inalienable dignity of every human being created in the image of God. For this reason, we consider this Organization a privileged interlocutor at the service of the common good, which is the “social form of the dignity” that we all share in an original and equal way (cf. Encyclical Letter Magnifica humanitas, 59). Since 1952, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer Mission has discerned and accompanied, from this perspective, UNESCO’s initiatives, contributing to dialogue among nations in order to promote authentic human development, which is such only when it is oriented toward “promoting all people and the whole person” (Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum progressio, 14).
Addressing this assembly, my venerable predecessor, Saint John Paul II, recalled that “genus humanum arte et ratione vivit.” Since, in fact, “man lives a truly human life thanks to culture” (Address to UNESCO, 2 June 1980, 6; cf. Thomas Aquinas, In Aristotelis Posteriora Analytica, 1), this word refers to the way of being by which the human being gives meaning to everything he does. Forty-six years later, renewing before you the Holy See’s commitment to collaboration, I invite you to consider UNESCO not only as an illustrious international organization, but also as a place where humanity reflects on itself, on its history, and on its future. Indeed, it is impossible to promote education, science, and culture without promoting the life of man and woman, who are its protagonists.
In the field of education, the Catholic Church brings a very ancient experience: for centuries, its communities have opened schools and universities, taught reading and writing, and are present even in the poorest and most remote places. With the Global Compact on Education, my predecessor Francis wished to integrate this experience into a broader educational alliance, open to the contribution of all. But what I wish to convey to you is not, above all, the works: it is the conviction from which they arise. No education is complete if it does not address the question of meaning. In that same address, Saint John Paul II recalled: to educate is to help man to “be” more and not only to “have” more, recognizing in him also that transcendence of the person which belongs to the fullness of his humanity (cf. ibid., 10-11).
In this assembly, then, it is fitting to explore a fundamental question that urgently challenges us: What does it mean to be human? All cultures are challenged by this question, which lies at the heart of every form of knowledge, every art, and every religion. Even in the twenty-first century, we cannot take for granted that we know who the human person is or what it means to live as a human being. Indeed, every generation is called to face this question, especially in the face of tragedies that, unfortunately, continue to repeat themselves even today.
Above all, the human person is someone who is conceived and born; therefore, to be human means, first of all, to be a child. None of us chose to be one. No one decided from whom, when, or where to be born. This evident truth sheds light on something that is not merely biological, but ethical: as children, we are all brothers and sisters. From the beginning, our humanity is a gift and a test, a promise and a responsibility. For every human being, birth establishes a primordial bond, a communion of life that has its origin, and its first educational environment, in the family.
Secondly, we are all born naked and needy. We are poor by birth: in need of bread and words, of care and affection; that is, of everything that nourishes body and spirit. We know this well; and yet, as we become adults, we run the risk of forgetting it. Precisely those who are in need are the ones who suffer the most serious consequences of this forgetting, whenever their humanity is betrayed or discarded, exploited or deceived. Forgetting the circumstances of our birth obscures the very idea of human life, because it separates life from the history we all share. Then, this life is no longer understood as a gift, but as a product. It ceases to be seen as a call to care and responsibility and becomes a product susceptible to exploitation. In fact, this tragic alternative reminds us that to be human is to be free by nature. Since we are all children, our freedom begins with our response to the freedom of the one who addresses us first, whether with gestures of affection or rejection, of loving welcome or abandonment and cruelty.
Thirdly, keeping alive the memory of our common humanity is to recognize its greatness—that is, its immense potential—even though it is diminished by so many forms of evil and injustice. Those dedicated to education, science, and culture are called, all the more, to care for each person, so that the beauty of our freedom may shine forth. This beauty has a name: justice. Yes, freedom is beautiful when it is oriented toward the good and the truth; it is disfigured when it degenerates into arbitrariness, violence, or thirst for power. To be human, then, implies a responsibility before history. The human being is one who grows, learns, and works with hands and mind. Through that work, one can cultivate the earth or disfigure it, create works of art or destroy them. At this particular moment, we must recognize that the most terrible of “human works” is war; because in it science itself is placed at the service of an inhuman will to destroy and kill.
In this regard, the Preamble of the UNESCO Constitution begins with words that continue to have surprising relevance today: “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed” (UNESCO Constitution, Preamble, 1945). These words were written after the Second World War, the most devastating tragedy of the last century. Humanity had come to understand that scientific progress, when separated from wisdom, can become a weapon of destruction; that culture, when subjected to ideology, can degenerate into falsehood and propaganda; and that education, when it abandons truth, can become an instrument for manipulating consciences. The founding States of UNESCO understood that treaties are necessary, but not sufficient in themselves. They require a culture of peace and a shared commitment to peace to sustain them. Peace cannot be built only with treaties, nor with compromises between opposing forces. Peace is authentic when it springs from the virtue of justice and not from a mere contract, from a right will rather than an unstable balance of interests. In truth, only a right will can recognize in the other a brother or sister, a person like oneself.
Eighty years later, the words of its founding Charter have lost none of their force. Yet we also see how deeply this common principle is threatened by forms of barbarism that fuel rivalry and conflict. Among the challenges facing the world of science and education today, I would like to highlight those arising from the vast field of technology. Our efforts in this area must ensure that new technologies remain at the service of the human person, rather than becoming yet another instrument of domination and injustice.
Over the centuries, many tasks once performed by human beings have been entrusted to machines, whose capabilities and applications have continued to expand. More recently, certain artificial systems have even been given the name of our human faculty of thought: intelligence. At the same time, however, our ideas and relationships run the risk of being impoverished by a process of dehumanization. The paradox becomes increasingly evident: while “intelligence” is attributed to computational systems, we find it difficult to recognize the inalienable dignity of persons, whose lives are judged according to the criterion of efficiency and, when they are considered no longer productive, are rejected and discarded.
This painful reality invites us to reflect both on the fragility of our human nature and on the immense dignity of each person—a dignity that remains intact in the circumstances of greatest vulnerability, even until death. Yes, the human being is, without doubt, one who is born, but also one who dies. Our dignity is not destroyed by illness or suffering, nor does it depend on our capacities. On the contrary, it demands loving care at every stage of life.
For the Christian faith, the mystery of the human person finds its fullest fulfillment in Christ, who, “in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes known to him the sublimity of his vocation” (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 22). In his light, every person is presented to us as a creature willed and loved by God. This light also helps us to understand more deeply the meaning of our shared human experience.
Ladies and gentlemen, as men and women of science, you are called to cooperate tirelessly in the name of our common history, so that, from a diversity of perspectives, a convergence of visions may arise and, from that convergence, a harmony in action. This harmony is expressed in the work of UNESCO when it gives a symphonic voice to the highest aspirations oriented toward the good and the care of humanity. Where there is harmony, different voices come to an agreement, and the nations you represent thus unite in concord.
In this regard, I would like to turn to two images from the Bible, that great cultural treasure of humanity: the Tower of Babel and the public square of Pentecost. I propose them as ways of representing the unity of the human family, which, even today, is continually called to discern its proper course, that is, the meaning of the history it is living. Indeed, these biblical narratives describe forms of social life that invite us to reflect on the circumstances of our own time.
The Tower of Babel represents a unity imposed through domination (cf. Gn 11,4). At the same time, this building reveals that the more power seeks oppression, the more it weakens itself, exposing its inhuman face. We see this in the suffering and injustice caused by despotism, as well as in forms of exploitation that wound both society and the environment. As history teaches, many empires have been carried away by their power before being consumed by it and collapsing like a tower. The result of this pride, first exalted and then cast down, is dispersion. The claim to be like God and to subject peoples to a single yoke leads to the confusion of tongues and to mutual misunderstanding. Instead of reaching heaven, as it intended, the Tower of Babel collapsed, with a double negative consequence. Since the unity it imposed was forced, the diversity that follows its collapse also became a source of conflict. Today, the temptation of Babel reappears in a globalization pursued without fraternity, in rapacious forms of neocolonialism, in ideological impositions, and in all those “contacts without bonds” that reduce human life to commerce (cf. International Theological Commission, Quo vadis, humanitas?, 42). Science itself, when reduced to a technique of power, no longer serves to elevate the human person but, on the contrary, runs the risk of degrading the fruits of its effort.
Especially today, we have means capable of connecting people and continents instantly; yet at the same time, we witness new forms of isolation, of material and spiritual poverty, and of abandonment. Communication has become much faster, but not necessarily more truthful; information is abundant, but it is not synonymous with wisdom. Without a shared ethical foundation, the numerous channels of communication run the risk of multiplying false information and giving currency to words devoid of meaning, which hinders dialogue rather than fostering it.
Artificial intelligence amplifies this problem: although these systems can correlate data, they cannot answer questions about the meaning of human life, which is rooted in lived experience. Nevertheless, human beings cannot live without meaning. Meaning is the oxygen of the mind. For this reason, the challenges of communication, which are also always challenges of education, turn the search for truth into a matter of social justice and historical equity. Hence, education in this field is essential, and I applaud UNESCO’s initiative through its “Media and Information Literacy” (MIL) program, which promotes the responsible use of media and digital tools.
Certainly, without truth, language is subjected to the logic of violence and the arbitrary will of the powerful. Thus, others are excluded in the name of profit, and innocents are killed in the name of freedom. Instead of respecting the law, those in power invoke it when it suits them and ignore it when it limits them, treating even justice itself as if it were a commodity that can be bought and sold. If we understand that the corruption of the law begins with the corruption of the heart, we can recognize how all science runs the risk of losing its proper meaning when practiced apart from ethics, thus ceasing to serve and reflect human dignity. In this regard, I encourage the entire international community to pay special attention to the protection of children and young people. In the digital age, their vulnerability must never become an opportunity for exploitation. May these technologies support their growth, their education, and their relationships, safeguarding their freedom to think and discern, and always remaining at the service of the dignity of the human person.
The corruption of culture we are considering finds its redemption in the public square of Pentecost. There, all peoples receive as good news a message of peace. That announcement proclaims the resurrection of Jesus, that is, the victory of life over death and the salvation that gives hope to the world. On the day of Pentecost, the public square becomes a place where the peace that heals every offense against the human person is celebrated. Each of those present heard the message in their own “native language” (cf. Acts 2,8). Communion does not in any way suppress diversity. Rather, it allows diversity to flourish in the harmony of voices and faces. In the proclamation of peace, the richness of cultures becomes the bearer of a universal truth. Biblical teaching thus shows us the way to attain what we all seek: “that unity which does not annul differences, but values the personal history of each one and the social and religious culture of each people” (Homily at the Mass for the Beginning of the Petrine Ministry, 18 May 2025). It is not the domination of Babel, but the peace of Pentecost, that makes possible this communion among all peoples. Each culture, therefore, attains its highest wisdom when it seeks the peace and good of all, bearing witness to the authentic meaning of our humanity.
Those dedicated to education know that only the truth makes us free. Those who teach and those who research know that error enslaves us to ignorance and superstition. Whenever we encounter obstacles in our mission, let us remember that there is only one Earth for all and a common human nature. One cannot understand the human being by separating what forms part of a whole: body and soul, personal life and relationships, our relationship with others and with the environment. Everything forms part of the unity of our existence. For this reason, cultivating the earth also means cultivating the humanity that inhabits it. Education and science are called to this task. In reality, it is no coincidence that every culture, according to the very etymology of the word, refers to the act of cultivating. I therefore renew the call of my predecessors to care together for the human person and for creation: Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the need for an ecology of the human person, while Pope Francis developed the perspective of integral ecology (cf. Benedict XVI, Address to the German Federal Parliament, 22 September 2011; Francis, Encyclical Letter Laudato si’, 137–162).
The point of reference by which we can evaluate our commitment is the care we give to the smallest and the poorest: children in their mothers’ wombs and in the various scenarios of war; persons with physical and intellectual disabilities; older adults; migrants and refugees; and all those whom arrogance excludes as unproductive. They are the true test of our claims about respect for human dignity, and their protection and promotion extend also to creation. Opposed to this is a will to exploit and plunder, to extract the maximum possible from every living being, to consume without preserving and to destroy without cultivating. That is why the current ecological crisis is also an anthropological crisis. The Church is also convinced that every culture carries within itself a wisdom that matures in an ecosystem of peoples. The habitat of the human person is society: not a merely physical environment like the desert or the ocean for animals, but a moral and relational one. Where social peace prevails, peoples prosper in justice.
It is there, then, that UNESCO finds the synthesis of its high educational and scientific missions: in the patient task of building peace. In the face of the numerous and complex urgencies of our time, the world looks to international institutions with mixed feelings. On the one hand, they are called to face challenges that no State can resolve by itself. On the other hand, these same institutions are undergoing a crisis of effectiveness, especially when dialogue is considered an obstacle to action rather than a resource for peace; as a form of hypocrisy, instead of an opportunity to seek the common good together. In the face of these deviations, it is necessary to promote a virtue as scarce as it is desired: trust; trust that differences do not necessarily constitute a threat; trust that sincere dialogue can generate a greater good than that which each one could obtain by himself. The Holy See wishes to instill this trust in UNESCO, as in other international organizations, aware that each people possesses a richness to share in the search for authentic progress that only peace can guarantee. It is not a matter of proposing a naïve optimism that ignores difficulties, but of persevering in the hope that good is always possible. Every child who is born brings hope with them. Every man and every woman who dedicates their life to the search for truth performs an act of hope. May UNESCO, then, bear witness to this hope by promoting understanding among nations, through dialogue among their respective cultures. We believe, in fact, that education is the instrument that allows us to overcome mutual fears and that science can be placed at the service of the life of every human being, sowing today the seeds of a good harvest for the future. This trust nourishes our hope in charity, that is, in service to the good of the neighbor: if we all dedicate ourselves consistently to our magnificent humanity, peace will finally be able to flourish.
While we collaborate in this work, religious traditions play a culturally necessary and irreplaceable role, and religions express our concerns about the origin of life and its end, giving meaning to the first and last purpose of existence, which is reflected in everyday decisions. In truth, when men and women of good will orient their actions toward God, the pluralism of cultures does not disperse into the chaos of Babel. Humanity, on the contrary, finds itself again in a common search for meaning and toward a destiny that is not death. We are not walking toward nothingness. That is why the human soul, in its relationship with God, perceives even better the call to cultivate peace through an alliance among peoples who recognize themselves as children of the same Father and as brothers and sisters.
I therefore hope that our meeting will strengthen the commitment of each one to work tirelessly so that the awareness of belonging to a single human family may become more alive, more active, and more just. In this regard, I wish to express my most sincere gratitude to all the staff of UNESCO, who carry out this noble mission with competence and dedication: building peace through the cultivation of all the sciences and all the arts of the human being.
I address these words to all of you, to the peoples you represent, and, very especially, to the young. It is, in fact, the new generations who observe our work with greater attention. While I support their aspirations for justice, with gratitude and esteem, I invoke upon all of you and upon your nations the abundance of the blessings of God, the almighty and merciful Creator. Thank you.
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