Pope Leo XIV receives Armenian Catholicos Aram I and calls for relaunching the ecumenical dialogue

Pope Leo XIV received His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church of Cilicia, in audience at the Vatican on Monday, in a meeting marked by the promotion of ecumenical dialogue and shared concern for the situation of Christians in the Middle East.

The meeting took place in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican and included a private conversation, the presentation of the Armenian delegation, the exchange of speeches, and a moment of common prayer in the Urban VIII Chapel.

During his address, Leo XIV highlighted the historical and spiritual bonds between the Catholic Church and the Armenian Apostolic Church, especially recalling the figure of Saint Paul and the historical role of Cilicia in the life of Eastern Christianity.

“There can be no restoration of communion between our Churches without unity in the faith,” the Pontiff stated, in one of the most significant phrases of a speech focused on the ecumenical question.

Leo XIV insists on reactivating theological dialogue

The Pope expressly thanked Aram I for his commitment to ecumenism and highlighted the work carried out since 2003 by the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

This dialogue, explained Leo XIV, has allowed the publication of joint documents on the nature of the Church, communion in early Christianity, and the sacraments.

However, the Pontiff also recognized the existence of recent difficulties and expressed his wish that the conversations “continue with renewed vigor.”

The Pope recalls the historical role of the Armenian Church

During the meeting, Leo XIV also recalled the historical dimension of the bond between Rome and the Armenian See of Cilicia, particularly intense during the Middle Ages and reactivated after the Second Vatican Council.

The Pontiff also praised the figure of Saint Nerses the Gracious, the Armenian Catholicos recently added to the Roman Martyrology, presenting him as a “pioneer of ecumenism.”

Likewise, he highlighted Aram I’s trajectory in international ecumenical bodies and his role in the World Council of Churches and the Council of Churches of the Middle East.

Concern for the future of Lebanon

A significant part of the papal speech was devoted to the situation of Lebanon, the country from which Aram I originates and whose stability once again openly concerned the Pontiff.

Leo XIV described Lebanon as a nation that for decades showed the world the possibility of coexistence between different cultures and religions, but warned that its “unity and integrity” are once again threatened.

The Pope also assured that he prays daily for the Lebanese people and for the Churches of the Middle East.

Finally, the meeting concluded with a joint prayer to the Holy Spirit on the eve of Pentecost, asking for unity among Christians and peace for the Middle East.

Becciu trial is once again on shaky ground: omissions in key evidence are reported

The appeal process in the case of the London building on Sloan Avenue has entered a new phase of tension after the defenses of Cardinal Angelo Becciu and financiers Raffaele Mincione and Enrico Crasso directly accused the Vatican prosecution of failing to comply with the court order requiring the full delivery of the investigation material. 

According to Il Messaggero, the lawyers have now asked the Court of Appeal to declare the definitive nullity of the summons to trial.

The new judicial offensive came after the submission of a joint memorandum to the Vatican Chancellery, in which the lawyers maintain that the office of the Promoter of Justice, led by Alessandro Diddi, handed over documentation that was still partially redacted through omissions and withheld part of the investigative material, claiming it was “not relevant.”

The defenses consider that this action seriously violates the right to defense and contradicts the order issued by the Court itself last month, which required the full deposit of the documents and materials collected during the investigations before April 30.

They accuse the prosecution of unilaterally deciding which evidence can be known

In the document submitted to the court, the lawyers denounce that the prosecution would have “illegitimately” assumed the ability to decide what material can be considered relevant for the process and what documents can be kept hidden.

The memorandum states that the Promoter of Justice “refused to comply” with the Court’s order and especially criticizes the persistence of broad omissions in the documentation delivered.

The confrontation has also escalated due to a proposal attributed to the prosecution to allow only the Court a reserved consultation of certain documents without access for the defenses. 

The lawyers describe that possibility as a “contra legem” procedure and denounce that there is no legal basis for such a practice.

The content of 31 Perlasca devices at the center of the dispute

One of the most delicate points revealed by Il Messaggero concerns the material seized from Monsignor Alberto Perlasca, a former official of the Secretary of State who later became one of the main witnesses against Cardinal Becciu.

According to the defenses, among the documents that have not yet been delivered is the content of 31 computer devices seized during the investigation. 

The lawyers consider that this material could prove decisive in reconstructing the real context of the financial operations linked to the purchase of the Sloan Avenue property in London.

The petition submitted to the Court requests not only the definitive nullity of the summons to trial, but also the suspension of the deadlines granted to the parties to prepare defense evidence until all the required documentation is fully delivered.

The process shifts toward questioning the Vatican judicial system

The new clash between the defenses and the prosecution increases pressure on the Vatican judicial system in one of the most relevant processes of recent decades.

Beyond the financial accusations linked to the London real estate investment, the conflict now revolves around procedural guarantees and transparency in the management of evidence within Vatican courts.

The risk, according to some observers of the process, is that the appeal ends up becoming a trial on the functioning of Vatican justice itself and on the system’s capacity to fully guarantee the right to defense.

A case marked by procedural irregularities

The Sloan Avenue case erupted following the controversial purchase of a luxury building in London by the Secretary of State, an operation that generated significant economic losses for the Holy See and opened one of the largest financial scandals of Pope Francis’s pontificate.

In December 2023, the Vatican Tribunal convicted Cardinal Angelo Becciu of embezzlement and other financial offenses. 

However, on March 17, the Court of Appeal completely annulled the process and ordered a retrial from the beginning after detecting serious irregularities in access to evidence and in the formation of the case file.

From the beginning of the procedure, the defenses denounced the use of exceptional norms and papal rescripts that modified procedural aspects during the development of the case.

"Christ is the center": the new superior of the Legionaries marks his profile after his election

The new director general of the Legionaries of Christ, Father Carlos Gutiérrez, referred to the renewal process undertaken by the congregation following the intervention of the Holy See and assured that one of the main lessons of these years has been to face the institution’s own history with realism. 

He expressed this in an interview given to Alfa y Omega after being elected in February to lead the congregation for the next six years.

The Mexican priest acknowledged that he received the appointment with a mixture of gratitude, surprise, and a sense of responsibility, aware that he will have to guide a congregation made up of more than 1,300 priests and religious in formation.

“Do not put obstacles to what God wants from you,” he confessed he thought after being elected during the General Chapter.

The renewal begun after the intervention of Benedict XVI

In the interview, Gutiérrez recalled that the Legionaries’ renewal process began decisively in 2009, when Benedict XVI ordered an apostolic visitation to the congregation following the scandal caused by the double life of its founder, Marcial Maciel.

Subsequently, the Pope appointed Cardinal Velasio De Paolis as pontifical delegate to lead a profound institutional reform.

The new director general explained that the various General Chapters held since then have sought to redefine the charism, approve new constitutions, and review the congregation’s internal formation.

According to him, the entire process has been lived “as an invitation from God to personal and institutional conversion.”

“We have learned about our history, mission, and identity,” Gutiérrez noted, assuring that the congregation has tried to face the past “with a critical, reflective look and from hope.”

“Christ is the center”

The new superior of the Legionaries insisted that the main challenge of the congregation is not organizational or administrative, but spiritual.

In this sense, he emphasized that Christocentrism remains the core of Legionary spirituality and warned against the risk of reducing religious life to criteria of efficiency or management.

“The main challenges are neither pastoral efficiency, nor effective administration, nor multiplying pastoral actions. If we do not center ourselves on Christ, we lose our true horizon,” he affirmed.

Gutiérrez also highlighted that during these years the Legionaries have felt accompanied by the Church and specifically mentioned the support received from Benedict XVI, Francis, and Leo XIV.

“We have experienced the maternal love of the Church that has welcomed us, cleaned our wounds, and encouraged us to move forward,” he assured.

Vatican announces the first encyclical of Leo XIV for May 25

The Vatican officially announced this Monday that the first encyclical of the pontificate of Leo XIV will be published on May 25 under the title Magnifica humanitas, a document dedicated to “the safeguarding of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence”.

The confirmation comes after several weeks of speculation and delays regarding a text that was initially scheduled for mid-May and had already generated great anticipation both inside and outside the Church.

The encyclical will be dated May 15, coinciding with the 135th anniversary of Rerum novarum, the historic social encyclical of Leo XIII that gave rise to the modern social doctrine of the Church.

Leo XIV places artificial intelligence at the center of his pontificate

With Magnifica humanitas, Leo XIV makes artificial intelligence and its anthropological, cultural, and social consequences the first major doctrinal theme of his pontificate.

The subtitle of the document  “on the safeguarding of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence” confirms the encyclical’s focus, centered on the defense of the person in the face of the challenges posed by technological development.

A parallel with the industrial revolution of Leo XIII

The choice of the date May 15 reinforces the historical parallel that Leo XIV appears to want to establish between the industrial revolution of the 19th century and the current technological revolution marked by artificial intelligence.

In 1891, Leo XIII published Rerum novarum, the document that systematically addressed the social conflicts arising from industrial capitalism and the working world.

Now, Leo XIV places the Church before a new epochal change marked by automation, digitalization, and the ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence.

Victor Manuel Fernández to participate in the presentation

The official presentation of the encyclical will take place on May 25 in the Synod Hall and will be attended by the Pontiff himself.

Among the participants will be Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development.

Also speaking will be theologian Anna Rowlands, from the University of Durham; Christopher Olah, co-founder of Anthropic and head of research on artificial intelligence interpretability; and Professor Leocadie Lushombo, lecturer in political theology and Catholic social thought at the Jesuit School of Theology / Santa Clara University.

The first major magisterial text of the new pontificate

Magnifica humanitas will be the first major magisterial document of Leo XIV and one of the most anticipated texts of this early pontificate.

The publication will allow for a clearer understanding of the intellectual and doctrinal orientation of the new Pope regarding one of the most relevant debates of our time: the impact of artificial intelligence on work, education, communication, culture, and the very understanding of the human being.

Church pastor (83) jailed for 12½ years for sexual abuse of a child in his congregation

An 83-year-old church pastor who sexually abused a child in his congregation over a number of years has been jailed for 12 and a half years.

The man, who can't be named to protect the anonymity of the victim, was found guilty by a jury of one count of attempted rape, one count of oral rape and three counts of sexual abuse of his victim at a church within the State on dates between December 2013 and April 2018.

He had denied the allegations and stood trial in the Central Criminal Court earlier this year. He has no previous convictions.

A local detective garda told Timothy O'Leary, prosecuting, that the man was a pastor in the church and the complainant was a member of his congregation, having attended the church with her family from a young age.

The court was told that, notwithstanding the dates on the indictment, it was agreed the girl was between eight and 11 years old during the abuse, while the man was aged in his 70s.

The man targeted the victim when she was using the toilet in the church and touched her inappropriately on a regular basis, with the abuse escalating to attempted rape.

The little girl was anxious and distressed and tried not to eat or drink before going to church, so she would not have to use the bathroom, the court heard.

In her victim impact statement, which was read out on her behalf by a family member, the now 20-year-old woman said that as the leader of her church, the man “should have represented safety, care and integrity”.

She said to this day she is hyper-vigilant, startles easily, has nightmares and night terrors and periods where she loses time and finds herself somewhere with no memory of getting there.

“What was done to me as a vulnerable child has affected me so deeply that long periods of my life have passed in a blur,” she said.

As a child, she said she appeared shy and made herself “quiet and small so unbearable memories would not spill out” and in fact, she was struggling to survive. “Church, a place of refuge, became a place of fear.”

She said going through the trial process affected her emotionally and physically, left her drained for weeks and set back her recovery.

“I'm determined to take back my life and not be afraid to live,” she said. “As a 20-year-old, I'm speaking for the little girl who could not speak.”

Dominic McGinn, defending, said it had been agreed that the offending effectively took place over a two-to-three year period. He asked the court to put this in the context of the man's life, given he is now aged 83.

The man has been in custody since his conviction and defence counsel said this is a new experience for him and a difficult one. He has a number of health issues.

He asked the court to take into account the man's lengthy work history and his religious work albeit the fact the offending “was committed in this sphere”.

Sentencing him on Monday, Judge Kerida Naidoo said he had considered the victim impact statement and it was clear that the offending had caused “immediate and long and abiding harm” to the woman, which made it difficult for her to lead a happy life.

He said a headline sentence of 14 years was warranted given the ongoing nature of the abuse, the length of time over which it occurred, the disparity in age between the child and the man and the significant breach of trust involved.

Judge Naidoo said the man could not avail of the most important mitigating feature - a plea of guilty - but acknowledged that he had a consistent work history.

He said the man had “abused his position in the church to commit the offence” and on that basis, he could not accept that his participation in the church was to his credit.

Judge Naidoo accepted that a testimonial from a long-term friend said the man had supported her through difficult times in her life. 

He also accepted that he has ongoing medical issues for which he requires a number of medications.

Judge Naidoo suspended the final 18 months of the 14 year term on strict conditions including that he engage with the Probation Service for two years upon his release from prison.

Police recover beloved saint's relic taken in brazen theft that shocked Czech Catholics

Police announced May 15 that the stolen skull of one of the Czech Republic's most beloved saints has been found.

It was taken by a thief who slipped into a Dominican basilica just before evening Mass on May 12, smashed a glass reliquary and escaped in a flash with the remains of St. Zdislava of Lemberk, a 13th-century Dominican laywoman whose relics have been venerated by pilgrims for centuries.

Police said they recovered the skull after finding it encased in concrete. Investigators said the 35-year-old suspect believed the saint's remains "would not find peace there" if they continued to be displayed in the basilica. According to police, he planned to throw the relic into a river and bury it privately.

"His motive was not to obtain money for it," police spokeswoman Ivana Baláková said. Experts are now working to remove the skull from the hardened concrete and assess its condition.

Events on May 12 unfolded like a scene from a movie: the silhouette of a figure dressed in black, two quick bangs, shattered glass, and, before anyone could react, one of the Czech Republic's most treasured Catholic relics had vanished.

The theft took place at the Basilica of St. Lawrence and St. Zdislava in Jablonné v Podještedí, a small Czech town 70 miles north of the country's capital, Prague, and home to one of the country's most important pilgrimage sites. A security camera captured the moment, but the footage is blurry.

It looked like a carefully planned burglary. Fr. Štepán Filip, a Dominican priest who serves at the basilica, told Czech media outlet Seznam Zprávy that the entire operation lasted "a few seconds."

He said he just saw someone run from the church with the relic in hand. The thief broke through two layers of protective glass, likely using a small emergency hammer, according to local reports. The alarm in that part of the church had been switched off because Mass was about to begin.

"We have to pray now that it gets back and that it's OK," Filip said in an interview before the relic was found. "It's an old skull" that is "fragile," he added.

Police released surveillance footage and appealed to the public for help identifying the perpetrator. On May 14, they announced that a 35-year-old man had been detained.

The news shocked Catholics throughout the Czech Republic. Now-Archbishop Stanislav Pribyl, who headed the Diocese of Litomerice, where the basilica is located, until he was installed as archbishop of Prague on April 25, told the Czech news agency CTK that the disappearance of the skull was "devastating news."

"The skull was revered by pilgrims. … I cannot believe that someone practically in broad daylight steals from church a relic whose value is above all historical and also spiritual for believers," he said.

Born around 1220 into a noble Bohemian family, St. Zdislava (also known as Zdislava Berka) married and raised four children. She became associated with the Dominican order as a lay member while devoting herself to the poor and the sick. She founded a hospital, supported the establishment of religious communities and was known for personally tending to those who were ill.

Her contemporaries called her the Mother of the Poor. After her death in 1252, devotion to St. Zdislava spread as believers attributed miraculous healings to her intercession.

St. John Paul II canonized her in Olomouc on May 21, 1995. In his homily, he pointed to her life as a model of holiness lived in marriage and family life.

"St. Zdislava, by intensely living the spirituality of a Dominican tertiary, was able to make a gift of herself, in the words of Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' This is the secret of the great attraction which her figure always exercised during her life, as well as after her death and still today," St. John Paul said in his homily.

"Her example seems remarkably timely, particularly with regard to the value of the family, which — she teaches us — must be open to God, to the gift of life and to the needs of the poor," the pope said.

Her shrine in Jablonné draws pilgrims from across Central Europe, many of them praying for children, healing and strength in marriage. In a country often described as one of Europe's most secular nations, devotion to St. Zdislava continues. The timing of the theft was especially painful as Catholics were preparing for her feast day, which is May 30.

Becciu lawyers ask Vatican appeals court to halt new trial

Lawyers for Cardinal Angelo Becciu and two co-defendants asked the Vatican appeals court to halt a new trial because prosecutors failed to file complete investigative records.

On May 13, defense lawyers representing Cardinal Becciu and businessmen Enrico Crasso and Raffaele Mincione filed a memorandum before the Vatican Court of Appeal challenging the conduct of the Vatican promoter of justice in the ongoing case concerning the Secretariat of State’s financial management.

According to the file viewed by Italian journalist Nico Spuntoni, the defense requested that the court declare the indictment invalid and revoke the order granting time for the parties to prepare evidence for a retrial ordered earlier this year.

“The promoter of justice refused to comply with the order issued” by the court to deposit the complete investigative records, the defense lawyers wrote in the memorandum cited by the Italian newspaper Il Giornale.

According to the order previously issued by the Vatican appeals court, prosecutors were required to deposit all records connected to the first-instance convictions of Becciu and the other defendants by April 30. According to the defense filing, prosecutors submitted material that “still contained numerous redactions and omissions.”

The lawyers argued that this did not satisfy the court’s instruction to provide the full documentation in the court registry.

The Vatican prosecution office reportedly maintained that only investigative acts and documents considered “relevant” to the case should be deposited, excluding material linked to matters deemed “unrelated to the facts under examination.”

Prosecutors also referred to the existence of information which, if disclosed, could allegedly endanger “the good and interest of the State [of Vatican City].”

Defense lawyers rejected those arguments in their memorandum. According to the file, the prosecutors had “illegitimately” assumed the authority to decide independently what material was pertinent to the judges’ assessment.

 The memorandum also criticized a proposal by the Vatican prosecution office allowing the court to consult certain materials without including the defense teams in the process. The lawyers characterized the proposal as “a sort of reserved negotiation with the Court regarding what to deposit” and argued that such a procedure was unsupported by Vatican law and “contrary to legal norms.” The memorandum also speaks of “serious and unprecedented situation.”

Among the materials allegedly not deposited were files obtained from 31 electronic devices seized from Alberto Perlasca, a former Vatican official who became a key witness against Becciu during the original proceedings. The defense argued that the absence of those materials undermined the possibility of preparing adequately for a renewed trial.

For all these reasons, the defense maintained that the defects previously identified in the indictment had not been remedied, despite directions issued by Vatican judges in March 2026.

According to defense, the failure to file the complete acts prevents the reopening of the evidentiary phase ordered by the appellate judges under the presidency of Archbishop Alejandro Arellano Cedillo. If the court accepts that position, the new proceedings could potentially be suspended or even declared invalid.

The current dispute follows years of legal proceedings connected to the Vatican’s controversial London property investment in Sloane Avenue and broader allegations regarding the management of Secretariat of State funds.

In December 2023, the Vatican tribunal convicted Cardinal Becciu on financial charges and imposed a prison sentence, while also convicting several other defendants involved in the case. Becciu has consistently denied wrongdoing and appealed the judgment.

On March 17, 2026, the Vatican Court of Appeal, presided over by Arellano Cedillo, identified violations of procedural guarantees in the original trial against Becciu and eight other defendants, particularly concerning the effective exercise of the right to defense, and declared a “relative nullity” of proceedings.

"Alonso Cano: Like a Virgin": transvestites, lingerie and subsidized blasphemy in an exhibition about the Virgin in Guadalajara

The Museum of Guadalajara, under the Junta of Castilla-La Mancha, has hosted since May 7 the exhibition Alonso Cano. Like a Virgin, a show that uses the image of the Virgin Mary and the iconography of the Virgin of the Milk to develop a contemporary ideological discourse on sexuality, gender, and the “reappropriation” of the female body.

The exhibition, organized together with the Elena de la Cruz School of Art, will remain open until June 21. The «artistic» affront makes use of visual elements associated with cross-dressing, queer aesthetics, lingerie, and cultural provocation around one of the most sacred and venerated representations of Christianity.

Under the title Like a Virgin — an explicit reference to the song popularized by Madonna — the show presents reinterpretations of Alonso Cano’s Virgo Lactans through corsets, leather, contemporary styling, and photographic compositions created by students of photography, fashion, and design.

From Cultura Castilla-La Mancha, the initiative is presented as an «exercise of pedagogical innovation and cultural mediation» aimed at connecting historical heritage with the new generations of artists.

The Virgin Reinterpreted from Contemporary Ideology

According to the official description issued by Cultura Castilla-La Mancha, the project starts from the idea that the iconography of the Virgin breastfeeding the Child Jesus was the subject of “censorship and sexualization” during the Counter-Reformation.

The exhibition intends to explore “the historical tension between the sanctity of the female body and the patriarchal gaze”, reinterpreting a deeply theological image of divine motherhood from contemporary ideological categories linked to feminism, sexual identity, and gender theory.

Among the cultural references used are figures like Madonna, Alexander McQueen, or Jean Paul Gaultier, in an approach that mixes Baroque sacred art with visual codes typical of contemporary aesthetic provocation.

A Provocation That Would Hardly Be Made with Other Religions

The representation shows the treatment that certain cultural institutions give to Catholic religious heritage, frequently turned into an object of artistic provocation and ideological reinterpretation.

The divine motherhood of Mary is reduced in this exhibition to a mere pretext to introduce contemporary political and cultural discourses, deliberately emptying Alonso Cano’s work of its spiritual and devotional dimension.

It should be noted that this type of provocations is rarely carried out using sacred symbols of other religions, while Christianity continues to be a frequent target of cultural transgression subsidized with public funds.

Vatican corrects two Argentine bishops: the faithful can commune on their knees and in the mouth

The Vatican would have intervened to remind two Argentine bishops that the faithful retain the right to receive Holy Communion on their knees and on the tongue, after several controversies that emerged in Argentina by restrictions and public corrections to those who tried to do so.

Two Argentine bishops corrected

According to reports released by Argentine Catholic media, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments held talks with the Archbishop of Mendoza and president of the Argentine Episcopal Conference, Marcelo Colombo, and with the Bishop of St. Louis, Gabriel Barba.

The Vatican would have reiterated that “the faithful have the freedom to commune according to the methods established by the Church, and this freedom cannot be restricted.”

The controversy began after Colombo publicly stated in 2025 that “in Argentina, communion is received standing,” appealing to the norms approved by the bishops’ conference.

In Mendoza there was also a particularly controversial episode in the Basilica of San Francisco, where a friar would have rebuked several faithful who were trying to kneel to commune. According to the information released, even a person would have been denied communion until he agreed to receive him standing and in the hand.

Favoring communion only in the hand

In the diocese of St. Louis, Bishop Barba also promoted guidelines to promote communion in hand, especially among the extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist.

The measure drew even more attention because that diocese had historically stood out for a strong traditional Eucharistic culture under the episcopate of Juan Rodolfo Laise, a well-known advocate of communion in the language.

Redemptionis Sacramentum made it clear

The Holy See had already made this question clear in the Redemptionis Sacramentum instruction, published in 2004 by the Congregation for Divine Worship.

The document expressly states that “every faithful always have the right to receive Holy Communion in the tongue” and adds that “it is not lawful to deny Holy Communion to any faithful solely because of the fact that they wish to receive the Eucharist on their knees or standing.”

For many Catholics, receiving the communion on their knees and mouths is a gesture of worship and reverence for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

The Argentine case has thus reopened a debate that is still alive in the Church: how far Episcopal conferences and dioceses can go in the application of local norms when they conflict with liturgical rights universally recognized by Rome.

Nationwide billboard campaign in Ireland invites thousands to rosary rally

The All Ireland Rosary Rally scheduled for June 6 in Knock will be the largest Catholic event in Ireland this year, and organizers have adopted an uncommon promotional tactic to catch the attention of the faithful — a countrywide billboard campaign.

Building on last year’s turnout when more than 10,000 people gathered for the 40th Rosary Rally in Knock, famous for its shrine and as a pilgrimage destination, rally organizers hope the two-week campaign will attract an even bigger audience. It is the first time the event has been advertised using billboards. Fifty sites throughout Ireland were chosen, including a number in Northern Ireland.

“We chose billboards because Father Patrick Peyton was famous for his billboards in running his rosary rallies around the world, some of which attracted crowds of 2 million people,” Father Marius O’Reilly, one of the rally organizers, told EWTN News.

The billboards have attracted reaction and comments online and in the mainstream media. The Irish News, a daily newspaper published in Belfast, reported that Archbishop Eamon Martin and Bishop Donal McKeown plan to “reconsecrate Ireland to the Immaculate Heart of Mary at the event, which organizers describe as a national moment of prayer for peace.”

Parishes have been drawing people’s attention to the billboard campaign as well. Holy Family Parish in Drogheda spotted one of the billboards in the town and posted on its Facebook page: “A giant reminder on the Dublin Road in Drogheda from the All Ireland Rosary Rally. Book your spot on our bus to Knock.”

O’Reilly explained to EWTN News that the cost of the billboards has been borne by sponsors and voluntary donations. “Sponsors are paying for the posters and indeed, this huge event is possible because of the generosity of so many. People are not charged on the day; thereʼs no ticket price. So the event relies heavily on the generosity and support of many people across Ireland and beyond. People are responding very positively, and with great enthusiasm.”

The goal of the rally’s organizing committee was a billboard presence in as many counties and population centers as possible. “We tried to ensure that every county would be represented with the billboards, and more so in the cities,” O’Reilly said.

“I think it is encouraging people in their faith and itʼs just part of the renewal in Ireland thatʼs taking place. The Irish have a great love for Our Lady in the rosary.”

He continued: “The devotion to Our Lady is evident on the highways and byways of our country; we have huge grottos everywhere around Ireland, so Our Lady is very, very important to the Irish. Now for the duration of the campaign, people of all faiths and none can see Our Lady on a billboard, as well as the grottos, inviting them to come to Knock to pray for peace in our world and for the renewal of our faith in Ireland.”

Partners for this yearʼs rally include the Father Peyton Centre in Attymass, County Mayo, and Holy Cross Family Ministries, which both continue the work of Peyton. International speakers include Father Chris Alar, Nikki Kingsley, and Bishop Oliver Doeme.

Over 10,000 pilgrims are expected to attend this year, with 50 buses already booked to bring people to the Knock shrine.

Pope Leo XIV's encyclical on artificial intelligence is coming: Here's what he has said on AI so far

As the world awaits Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical on artificial intelligence, expected to be signed May 15 and released by the Vatican by the end of the month, here is a look at what the pope has said on AI since his election a year ago.

The first American pope and a former mathematics major, Pope Leo has returned to the subject of AI again and again in speeches, messages and interviews since his election in May 2025, leading Time magazine to include him on its 2025 list of the world's most influential people in artificial intelligence.

Pope Leo has already addressed AI in a wide range of contexts, telling teenagers gathered in a sports stadium to use AI "in such a way that if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think, warning priests not to use chatbots to write their homilies, calling on the media to preserve "human voices and faces," and telling legislators from 68 countries that AI is a tool meant to serve humans, not replace them.

From a speech in central Africa on AI's potential to change humanity's "relationship with truth" to a message to tech developers gathered in Rome, Pope Leo has emerged as one of the most prominent global voices on the ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence even before the publication of his much-anticipated encyclical.

Words of wisdom to young people on the use of AI

One of the pope's most direct and memorable statements on AI came in response to a high school student from Honolulu, who asked Pope Leo about young people's use of ChatGPT and other AI tools for homework from writing an essay to solving a math problem.

"Use it in such a way that if it disappeared tomorrow, you would still know how to think," Pope Leo said.

He urged the student to "be careful that your use of AI does not limit your true human growth," underlining the importance of knowing "how to think, how to create, how to act on your own, how to form authentic friendships."

The pope spoke via video link to a crowd of 16,000 young people gathered in Indianapolis for the National Catholic Youth Conference in November.

"AI can process information quickly, but it cannot replace human intelligence," Pope Leo told the students. "And don't ask it to do your homework for you. It cannot offer real wisdom. It misses a very important human element: AI will not judge between what is truly right and wrong. And it won't stand in wonder, in authentic wonder before the beauty of God's creation."

Pope Leo has also expressed concern for AI's potential effect on children's "intellectual and neurological development," adding "we must pause and reflect with particular care upon the freedom and inner life of our children and young people."

"The ability to access vast amounts of data and information should not be confused with the ability to derive meaning and value from it. The latter requires a willingness to confront the mystery and core questions of our existence," he said.

"It will therefore be essential to teach young people to use these tools with their own intelligence, ensuring that they open themselves to the search for truth."

AI and the job market

Pope Leo expressed interest in the issue of artificial intelligence and the dignity of work since the first week of his pontificate, telling the College of Cardinals days after his election in May 2025 that he took his name partly in honor of Pope Leo XIII, who wrote the social encyclical "Rerum Novarum" in 1891 in the context of the first industrial revolution.

"In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor," Pope Leo XIV said, two days after his election.

In his first interview after his election, Pope Leo warned of "extremely rich people" who are investing in AI and totally ignoring "the value of human beings and humanity," adding, "I think the Church needs to speak up."

Speaking to legislators from 68 countries gathered at the Vatican for the Jubilee of Governments in June, the pope said, "it must not be forgotten that artificial intelligence functions as a tool for the good of human beings, not to diminish them, not to replace them," adding that AI can "be of great help to society, provided that its employment does not undermine the identity and dignity of the human person and his or her fundamental freedoms."

In a December 2025 speech to participants in an AI conference in Rome, the pope asked, "How can we ensure that the development of artificial intelligence truly serves the common good, and is not just used to accumulate wealth and power in the hands of a few?"

"This is an urgent question, because this technology is already having a real impact on the lives of millions of people, every day and in every part of the world," the pope added.

Co-workers in creation, not passive AI consumers

"Human beings are called to be co-workers in the work of creation, not merely passive consumers of content generated by artificial technology," Pope Leo said in the same December speech.

"Artificial intelligence has certainly opened up new horizons for creativity, but it also raises serious concerns about its possible repercussions on humanity's openness to truth and beauty, and capacity for wonder and contemplation," he added.

The pope expanded on his idea in his message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, published in January, warning that AI systems "have increasingly taken control of the production of texts, music and videos," putting "much of the human creative industry at risk of being dismantled and replaced with the label 'Powered by AI,' turning people into passive consumers of unthought thoughts and anonymous products without ownership or love."

The masterpieces of human artistic genius, he added, are being reduced to "mere training grounds for machines."

"Renouncing creativity and surrendering our mental capacities and imagination to machines," Pope Leo wrote, "would mean burying the talents we have been given to grow as individuals in relation to God and others."

The pope has urged priests to resist "the temptation to prepare homilies with artificial intelligence."

"To give a true homily is to share faith," and artificial intelligence "will never be able to share faith," the pope told priests of the Diocese of Rome.

"People want to see your faith, your experience of having known and loved Jesus Christ," he added.

'Preserving human voices and faces'

Pope Leo titled his 2026 communications' day message focused on AI "Preserving Human Voices and Faces."

"Faces and voices are sacred," he said. "God, who created us in his image and likeness, gave them to us when he called us to life through the Word he addressed to us."

By simulating human voices, faces, emotions, and relationships, he added, "the systems known as artificial intelligence not only interfere with information ecosystems, but also encroach upon the deepest level of communication, that of human relationships. The challenge, therefore, is not technological, but anthropological. Safeguarding faces and voices ultimately means safeguarding ourselves."

The pope has also spoken about deepfakes -- AI-generated videos, images and audio -- and their capacity to deceive.

Pope Leo recalled how only a few days into his pontificate someone asked him if he was OK after falling down a flight of stairs. "I said: 'No, I didn't,'" he recalled, "but there was a video somewhere where they had created this artificial pope, me, falling down a flight of stairs as I was walking somewhere, and it apparently was so good that they thought it was me."

He also disclosed that someone had approached him with a proposal to create an AI version of the pope, so that visitors to a website could participate in virtual papal audiences. His response was unequivocal: "I said, 'I'm not going to authorize that.' If there's anyone who shouldn't be represented by an avatar, I would say the pope is high on the list."

Chatbots as an 'oracle of all advice'

Pope Leo, the first pope to be an active Twitter user before being elected as a successor of Peter, has observed that "as we scroll through our feeds, it becomes increasingly difficult to determine whether we are interacting with other human beings or with ‘bots' or ‘virtual influencers.'"

Chatbots based on large language models, he noted, "are proving to be surprisingly effective at covert persuasion through continuous optimization of personalized interaction." Because they are "excessively affectionate, as well as always present and accessible, they can become hidden architects of our emotional states and so invade and occupy our sphere of intimacy."

The danger, he wrote, is when people substitute AI systems for real human relationships, they create "a world of mirrors around us, where everything is made 'in our image and likeness,'" robbing themselves of the "opportunity to encounter others, who are always different from ourselves, and with whom we can and must learn to relate."

Pope Leo also questioned the "naive and unquestioning reliance on artificial intelligence as an omniscient ‘friend,' a source of all knowledge, an archive of every memory, an "oracle" of all advice," saying that this can "further erode our ability to think analytically and creatively, to understand meaning and distinguish between syntax and semantics."

Under a subheading of his communications message titled, "Do not renounce your ability to think," Pope Leo wrote, "Although AI can provide support and assistance in managing tasks related to communication, in the long run, choosing to evade the effort of thinking for ourselves and settling for artificial statistical compilations threatens to diminish our cognitive, emotional and communication skills."

Excommunicated Former Catholic Archbishop of Lusaka in Zambia, Telesphore Mpundu, Dies at 78

Archbishop Telesphore George Mpundu, the immediate former Local Ordinary of Zambia’s Lusaka Catholic Archdiocese, has died at the age of 78, with Church leaders in the Southern African nation remembering him for his advocacy on governance, social justice, and national affairs despite the canonical sanctions that marked the final period of his ministry.

Archbishop Mpundu died on Friday, May 15, while receiving treatment at Maina Soko Military Hospital in Lusaka.

In a statement issued the same day, Archbishop Alick Banda expresses “deep sorrow” at the passing on of his immediate predecessor and calls on the leadership of parishes and religious communities across the Zambian Archdiocese to facilitate the offering of Holy Mass for the repose of Archbishop Mpundu’s soul.

“Archbishop Mpundu served the Church with distinction,” Archbishop Banda says.

He adds that during his Episcopal Ministry, the late Archbishop Mpundu “also served multiple terms as President of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB).”

Archbishop Banda describes his immediate predecessor as a Catholic Church leader who “was widely respected for his strong advocacy on governance, social justice, and national affairs, courageously speaking out on matters of truth and justice while shepherding the faithful with compassion and wisdom.”

In March 2024, Archbishop Mpundu incurred excommunication after performing an illicit episcopal consecration without papal approval.

In a 21 November 2025 report, The Catholic Herald stated, “The founder of the Servants of the Holy Family, Bishop Anthony Ward, has revealed that he was secretly consecrated in a ceremony, which while valid was illicit, in 2024 by Archbishop Telesphore George Mpundu, the retired Archbishop of Lusaka.”

The publication added that Bishop Anthony Ward disclosed on 16 November 2025 that both he and Archbishop Mpundu had “received notice” from Víctor Manuel Cardinal Fernández informing them that they had incurred “latae sententiae excommunication” because the Episcopal Consecration had been carried out without Papal approval.

Later, in a 3 December 2025 publication, Zenit reported that Father Anthony D. Ward had acknowledged “that he received episcopal orders without papal authorization in March 2024” and had “effectively acknowledged the automatic excommunication that canon law imposes on any bishop who ordains without Rome’s approval, as well as on the man ordained.”

Zenit further reported, “The prelate who performed the rite was Archbishop Telesphore G. Mpundu, the retired head of the Archdiocese of Lusaka.”

Born in May 1947 at Kapatu Mission, Archbishop Mpundu was ordained a Priest in December 1972.

In March 1987, he was appointed Bishop of Mbala, now the Catholic Diocese of Mpika, where he served for 19 years.

He was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of Lusaka in 2004 and succeeded as Archbishop in 2006.

In January 2018, aged 70, Archbishop Mpundu resigned, reportedly for canonical reasons.

During his Episcopal Ministry, the late Archbishop Mpundu also served several terms as ZCCB President, playing a prominent role in the Church’s public engagement on national issues.

In their condolence message addressed to Archbishop Banda, ZCCB members have conveyed their “most sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Archdiocese of Lusaka, Priests, religious, laity and the bereaved family on the demise of the Archbishop Emeritus.”

“Archbishop Mpundu will be remembered not only for his dedicated spiritual leadership and pastoral care but also for his unwavering commitment to social justice, peace, and organizational integrity,” Zambia’s Catholic Bishops have said in the message signed by ZCCB President, Archbishop Ignatius Chama.

ZCCB members add that the late Archbishop Mpundu’s “profound legacy of service to the Church and the nation remains an enduring inspiration to us all.”

“Sincere condolences also go to his family and friends. Be assured that we are together in prayer during this time of mourning. May he be rewarded for his exemplary and generous service to the Church,” they say, adding, “We remain united in mourning the death of the late Most. Rev. Telesphore George Mpundu, with faith and hope in our risen Lord Jesus Christ. May his soul rest in eternal peace.”

Archbishop Banda has said funeral arrangements would be announced later.

School divestment process needs flexible approach (Opinion)

Once bishops could be seen but not heard, apart from the regular interventions of the famous bishop of Cork, Connie Lucey, an outspoken and combative character whose main platform was the Confirmation circuit. 

Among his favoured subjects were: moral decline in Irish society, the dangers of communism and atheism, threats to Christian society worldwide, trade union militancy and ‘immoral influences’ in the media – including The Late Late Show. 

More recently, Catholic bishops for good reason have tended to avoid the media. It’s even said that the compelling wisdom behind their apparent vow of silence is the belief (as one bishop conceded) that ‘we’re only annoying people’.

So the recent intervention of the Bishop of Meath Tom Deenihan at a function honouring the 50th anniversary of a Catholic primary school, St Oliver Plunkett’s in Navan, is unusual - particularly in its directness. Catholic schools, he said, are popular, well supported, serve their communities and are genuinely inclusive. 

But, he continued, the depiction of Catholic schools is generally ‘negative, ideologically driven and adversarial’. They are presented as ‘grim places of indoctrination that children are forced to attend by Church and State’. 

That discourse and narrative, he concluded, is ‘ill-informed and false’. Yet, he continued, ‘various groups, supported by funding from ideological, philanthropical entities, many from outside the State, continue to lobby politicians and media with a rather narrow, nuanced and distorted narrative.’ 

A few markers are needed to give context to what the bishop is saying. 

One, parents are the prime educators of their children. 

Two, the State has the responsibility to provide education. 

Three, what makes it difficult to introduce, say at primary level, a fair and equitable educational service for all Irish children is the huge, almost overwhelming number of Catholic children in comparison to those from other religious denominational schools and non-faith schools. 

 Four, the Department of Education for the last fifteen years – since the then Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn set up the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in 2011 and which has continued under seven Ministers for Education to the present time – has had a policy of securing a process of divestment of Catholic schools in order to secure a fair and equitable educational service for mainly non-faith schools. 

Five, the Catholic Church has accepted the need for divestment of schools, including the divestment of Catholic schools.

While in theory the divestment process was accepted as obvious, necessary and important, the gap between Ruairí Quinn’s hope to see 1,500 out of the then total of 3,000 primary schools divested varied substantially from the then prediction of a spokesman for the Catholic School Partnership (CSP) who suggested that a transfer figure of 10 per cent was more realistic. 

In a recent analysis in The Irish Times, Patsy McGarry commented that ‘as of 2017 just 10 schools in Ireland had completed the divestment process’ and concluded that the CSP figure was ‘nearer the mark’.

What has emerged is that while all are agreed that the divestment of Catholic schools is an essential prerequisite in securing a fairer system for all schools, the process is much more complicated and delicate than some of those involved are prepared to admit and this is apparent in reactions that extend from insensitivity to depicting Catholic education in Bishop Deenihan’s words, as ‘negative, ideologically driven and adversarial’.

Clearly the divestment process is patently ‘not working’. Inevitably, this is leading to huge frustration on the part of those responsible for moving the process forward. 

Recently Séamus Mulconry, the general secretary of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, suggested that ‘if some of those making the loudest noises... stopped treating it (divestment) as an ideological point-scoring exercise and looked at it as a shared challenge for both church and the State, I think the problem is solvable’.

Other difficulties encountered by the divestment process, especially in situations where community or school support has to be ‘encouraged over the line’ are misinformation, scaremongering, secretive clergy objections, community interference, as well as suggestions of enforcement, coercion, even bullying. In other words, across the full spectrum of standard local consultation.

At the same time it’s not rocket science, as we say, and shouldn’t be beyond the goodwill, respectful support and Christian patience of different religious traditions to gather support for a project that is doable, workable and necessary for the common good. That said I listened recently to someone who had direct experience of a situation that seemed ideal for the divestment model.

In a parish with four Catholic schools, each of which had around an estimated minority of 20% Church of Ireland pupils, it seemed ideal for the divestment of one Catholic school and the movement of the 20% of the other schools to the divested school building. 

But even what seems like a simple solution became unstuck. Respect and flexibility would seem to be important constituent factors in making real progress over the divestment of schools but sometimes one or both are absent from the process without leave.

In bringing clear accusations against those who are more interested in ideological grand-standing than in devising a middle way towards securing a fair and equitable educational service for all schools, Bishop Deenihan has brought a much-needed air of reality to a seemingly interminable debate that seeks to impose conditions on those who seem to expect even demand not just their right to the freedom and opportunity to be loyal to their own traditions but in the process to presume to adjudicate on the traditions of others.

Unless all sides are prepared to respect the rights of others and to adopt a flexible approach towards working to achieve what is possible to achieve, the effective stand-offs that demand that others capitulate in deference to the superiority of one agenda simply ensure that the whole process will eventually run into the sand. 

The policy of picking off low-lying fruit to impress those who agree with us may entertain the troops but its ultimately a counsel of despair.

Fernández admits concern over the global crisis in the transmission of the faith and prepares a document from the DDF

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is preparing an important document on the crisis in the transmission of the Catholic faith, a concern that is increasingly widespread among bishops around the world in light of the collapse of religious practice, the secularization of families, and the generational rupture of Christianity in large areas of the West.

The news was confirmed by the prefect of the dicastery, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, in statements to the National Catholic Register. The Argentine prelate explained that the text is being prepared together with the Dicastery for Evangelization and that it follows an extensive consultation carried out with episcopal conferences from different continents.

Although Fernández did not offer a specific date for its publication, he made clear that it is currently the main doctrinal document in preparation within the Vatican body.

Rome acknowledges the seriousness of the crisis of faith

According to the prefect of the DDF, the origin of this initiative stems in part from Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, published in 2013.

Fernández recalled that the Argentine pontiff placed great importance on popular piety and the family as fundamental spheres for transmitting the faith. However, he acknowledged that this transmission has broken down in many places, especially in deeply secularized societies.

The concern has been repeatedly expressed by numerous bishops during their ad limina visits to the Vatican. Many prelates conveyed to Rome the growing problem of entire generations of baptized young people who no longer receive solid Christian formation or maintain any connection to sacramental life.

This issue particularly affects Europe and much of Latin America, where the weakening of religious practice and the loss of Catholic identity have been advancing for years.

A global consultation to understand the problem

The project began to take shape in various internal meetings of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, known as Feria IV, in which cardinals and bishops who are members of the body participated.

Subsequently, consultations with specialists were carried out and an initial draft was prepared. Later, the Vatican decided to significantly expand the process with a consultation directed at all episcopal conferences, as well as experts and research centers.

“The response has been enormous,” Fernández assured, acknowledging that the dicastery has been surprised by the quantity and extent of the responses received.

The prefect even admitted that considerable time will be needed to properly study all the material sent from different parts of the world.

The crisis is not experienced the same way in all countries

Fernández insisted that the future document cannot be prepared solely from a European or Italian perspective, since the crisis in the transmission of the faith presents very different characteristics according to each region.

“North Africa is not the same as Mali; Turkey is not the same as Pakistan,” the cardinal explained. He also pointed out that within Europe there are very different realities between countries such as Poland and Germany or between Italy and England.

In Latin America, he added, the ecclesial situation in Argentina cannot be compared with that of Colombia, Brazil, or Peru.

For this reason, the Vatican considers that the document will not offer “unique recipes” or universal solutions, but rather general pastoral guidelines that can serve as inspiration for local Churches.

The Vatican also looks at the challenge of artificial intelligence

The prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith also revealed that the body will soon have to focus on the reception of the future encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, which is expected to address the impact of artificial intelligence.

Fernández noted that the Vatican considers both the problem of the transmission of the faith and the cultural and anthropological challenges arising from contemporary technological development as priorities.

Since Pope Leo XIV’s arrival at the pontificate, the DDF has significantly reduced the pace of publication of major doctrinal texts compared to previous years.

“Every morning, mountains of correspondence arrive”

The Argentine cardinal also described the enormous workload that the doctrinal body of the Holy See faces daily.

“Every morning, mountains of correspondence arrive at my office,” he stated. “Just quickly reviewing all of that takes several hours.”

These statements reflect the accumulation of doctrinal, pastoral, and disciplinary problems that continually reach the Vatican in a context marked by the accelerated secularization of the West, catechetical confusion in numerous countries, and the growing difficulty in transmitting the Catholic faith to the new generations.

Leo XIV's first encyclical on artificial intelligence is delayed until the end of May

The first encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, which would be centered on artificial intelligence, international peace, and the crisis of international law, will not be published on May 15 as initially planned, but later this same month.

Various sources had pointed out that the document would be signed on May 15, coinciding with the anniversary of the publication of Rerum novarum, the great social encyclical of Leo XIII. 

However, the director of the Holy See’s Press Office, Matteo Bruni, told journalists that the announcement about the document will take place on May 22.

The text is circulating provisionally under the title Magnifica Humanitas, although neither the definitive date nor the title have been officially confirmed by the Holy See.

Artificial intelligence, peace, and international law

The encyclical would address some of the major issues of Leo XIV’s nascent pontificate: artificial intelligence, international peace, and the weakening of international legal structures.

The Pope has already warned on various occasions about the risks of an «uncontrolled» technology and the need to protect human dignity in the face of technical developments that can profoundly alter social, labor, and political life.

The choice of theme is not casual. The Holy See has been working for months on the ethical and anthropological implications of artificial intelligence, especially after the publication of Antiqua et Nova, the joint note from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education on the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence.

A possible nod to Rerum novarum

The initially pointed date, May 15, had a strong symbolic charge.

On that same day in 1891, Leo XIII published Rerum novarum, considered the foundational text of the Church’s modern social doctrine, centered on the labor issue and the social challenges of the industrial revolution.

Also on May 15, 1931, Pius XI published Quadragesimo anno, developing the Church’s social teaching and clearly formulating the principle of subsidiarity. Thirty years later, on May 15, 1961, John XXIII promulgated Mater et magistra, dedicated to economic justice and social development.

The fact that Leo XIV’s first encyclical has been linked to that date reinforces the reading of those who see in this document an attempt to position the Church before the great challenges of the new technological revolution.

The Church before the digital revolution

The possible encyclical on artificial intelligence would fit into a line of growing Vatican concern about the impact of new technologies on the person, work, war, and human freedom.

The note Antiqua et Nova, published in January 2025, warned that artificial intelligence can bring important innovations, but it can also increase inequality, manipulate public opinion, and expand instruments of war beyond human control.

The document also insisted that artificial intelligence should not be understood as an artificial form of human intelligence, but as a product of it, called to serve as a complementary tool and not as a substitute for the richness proper to human intelligence.

A text still pending official confirmation

For now, the Holy See has not confirmed the exact publication date or the definitive title of the encyclical.

The announcement scheduled for May 22 could clarify whether the text will be published at the end of the month and whether it will finally retain the provisional title of Magnifica Humanitas.

In any case, the expectation around the document shows that Leo XIV wants to place a central issue on the table from the beginning of his pontificate: how the Church should respond to a new technological era that threatens to redefine work, war, education, and even the understanding of the human being itself.