Mois : septembre 2026

Pope Leo XIV’s alma mater, Villanova University, has named the former head of the Vatican’s social justice office, Cardinal Michael Czerny, as the inaugural recipient of a sustainability award honoring the pope’s advocacy on caring for creation. 

The Czech-Canadian cardinal led the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development until Sept. 1, where he became one of the Vatican’s most visible voices on climate change.

In 2022, he had called for an immediate end to the exploration and production of coal, oil and gas and said that all existing fossil fuel production must be phased out. 

Under Czerny’s leadership, the dicastery also launched the Laudato Si’ Action Platform, an initiative designed to put into practice the principles of Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical on care for creation, « Laudato Si’, on Care for Our Common Home. »

Lorna Gold, executive director of the Laudato Si’ Movement, said they could think of no one more fitting than Czerny to receive the award. In his role with the dicastery, Czerny worked closely with Laudato Si’ Movement — a network of 900-plus Catholic organizations committed to responding to Francis’ encyclical on ecology — particularly with the 2022 documentary « The Letter » and the Laudato Si’ Action Platform.

« Cardinal Czerny has always brought a profound concern for the poor, the migrants, the margins — insisting that the vision of ‘sustainability’ in Catholic teaching must always answer both the cries of the poor and the earth, » Gold told National Catholic Reporter.

Villanova wanted to name the award after its most famous alumnus, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1977, since integral ecology is « something he personally has been very interested in, and has been for long before he’s been pope, » Augustinian Fr. Peter Donohue, university president, told NCR. « It’s a message he’s had for his whole ministry. »

As pope, Leo has followed in the footsteps of Francis who make care for God’s creation a central tenet of his pontificate, calling on world leaders to take seriously the risks posed by climate change and publicly praying for the conversion of those who resist climate action.  

In a Mass celebrated « for the care of creation » in the papal gardens Sept. 1, Leo asked Catholics to recognize the ways in which they have been « unfaithful in safekeeping creation and caring for the dignity of each person. » 

The medal will be presented by Leo personally on Oct. 13 in a ceremony at the papal gardens in Castel Gandolfo, outside of Rome, during an international sustainability conference organized by Villanova. 

Though awarded to a member of the clergy in its first year, the Pope Leo medal remains « wide open » to anyone who is deemed to fulfills its values, Donohue said, namely « a holistic vision of sustainability, integrating care for the environment, social justice, concern for vulnerable populations, and responsible stewardship of economic and natural resources. » The medal will be awarded every two years.

Ecology « was an important thing within the university but we hadn’t really done anything to take out what we have been discovering, or what we have been teaching and learning outside of the university, » Donohue told NCR. « So the medal is a way of recognizing someone that we see as an individual who we see that will contribute, to make some change in the world. It was really to see who are the changemakers and recognize them. » 

At a Rome press conference announcing the award, Czerny was asked how the ecological principles it recognizes should inform the development of artificial intelligence. 

The cardinal pointed to Leo’s AI encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, which he said makes clear that « we cannot go on thinking, feeling and behaving as if this whole thing was beyond us. »

« We could compare this with the Industrial Revolution, which I think began with people feeling that there was nothing that could be done, and which nevertheless developed important responses, some of them very actively sponsored or supported by the church, » Czerny said. « Our hope would be that, similarly, in a very different world than the 19th century, that people would help one another, and that the church would help them to take appropriate responsibility for AI. »

« We have made it. We want to use it; it’s ours. We can’t blame anybody else, » he said.

Participation in elections is a key component of faithful citizenship for U.S. Catholics, as is advocating for free and fair elections, Catholic leaders said Sept. 11.

At a press briefing that also included theologians and representatives of Catholic advocacy organizations and religious orders, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami pointed to the U.S. bishops’ document « Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship » as a reference point for Catholic voters this November.

« We have to just keep on telling people in the pews to vote, » Wenski said. « A significant percentage of American citizens who can vote don’t vote, and we have to tell everybody that they have to be faithful citizens by exercising their right to vote. »

Panelists spoke about pastoral challenges presented by some hardline immigration enforcement policies as among the concerns Catholics should consider.

Fr. Juan de la Cruz Turcios, a parochial vicar at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, Maryland, who immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador, said that in his multicultural parish « there is a lot of fear. » He described his own experience carrying his U.S. passport card at all times.

« Never before in my life — I’ve been living in the United States for almost 30 years — never before in my life have I had to carry my passport card just to go to the 7-Eleven around the corner, » he said. « Yes, because I am a target too, even though I’m a priest. »

Wenski said that advocating for humane immigration policies « is not a struggle that the church has gotten into just the day before yesterday. »

« We’ve been involved in immigration from the beginning of the church in this country, because immigration is the story of the Catholic Church: the Italians, the Irish, the Poles that immigrated in the 18th and 19th centuries and early 20th centuries, » he said. « This is our story, and the bishops have been pretty unified on the issue of immigration.

« We might have our disputes on liturgical or other issues, » he said, « but the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, we vote almost 100% in favor of protection for immigrants and for a broader reform of our nation’s failed and inadequate immigration policies. So we’re doing what we’ve always done, but we are facing strong headwinds recently because of these inadequate and antiquated laws that have been given new teeth. »

Among some of the immigration policy reforms the U.S. bishops have supported are earned pathways to citizenship or lawful permanent residence for eligible migrants; ensuring families of mixed immigration status are not separated; upholding due process in immigration enforcement actions; and ensuring sensitive locations such as houses of worship, schools, and hospitals are protected from enforcement actions.

Only U.S. citizens may vote in federal elections in the U.S. under federal law. But hardline immigration enforcement actions have left some immigrants, who are naturalized U.S. citizens and eligible to vote, concerned about accessing their polling places if immigration enforcement efforts take place there and that they might be wrongly included in those actions.

Joseph Tomás McKellar, executive director of Catholics in Communion, said the group’s work would include having « poll chaplains » available for eligible voters concerned about their ballot access.

« Every eligible voter should feel safe to vote, and every vote should get counted, regardless of who or what people vote for, » McKellar said. « The question this morning isn’t about the church turning more liberal or conservative. That’s the wrong frame. It’s about how the church is returning to its roots, who these Catholics are, and why being Catholic in America increasingly means building brick by brick a civilization of love. »

Richard Wood, a sociologist and president of the Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies at the University of Southern California, added, « I think it’s the church’s response to some of the real risks to free and fair elections happening. »

« But it’s motivated not by partisan concern, but by this deep Catholic teaching of the rights of full participation, that people have a right to full participation in society, to shape the decision-making, and our mechanism for doing that is elections, » Wood said. « So how those elections happen really matters to the church. It’s about human dignity, right? The dignity of voters who go to the polls. That dignity means their votes should really be protected. »

Asked how to apply the principles of « Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship » to the circumstances of the 2026 midterm elections, Katie Holler, lead organizer for The Dorothea Project, said in that document, « the bishops put forth three beautiful priorities to guide us in forming our consciences. »

« Those three priorities that they put forth for us as Catholics are: Who is my neighbor, what is the role of the church in public life, and faith before politics, » Holler said. « And I think those are great starting places for us as Catholics. »

She said that discernment should include asking « what does the church say about the human dignity of the person, about the importance of families and community and solidarity, the preferential option for the poor, the vulnerable, and care for creation » and applying those principles as « the first way that we assess candidates. »

[Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.]

The BBC drama series « The Hardacres » portrays the division between wealthy and poor and their different ways of thinking about the world. In the course of saving someone’s life, Sam Hardacre, the father, loses the use of his hand. In a world without justice, the family is plunged into destitution until Mary, the wife, stops working as a fish gutter and opens a fried herring stall. The business flourishes to the degree that they are able to buy the fishery from its unjust and cruel owner.

Sam’s goal, for which he is labeled a « radical, » is to create a business that will be both profitable and just. In the process, his former companions are suspicious that he is no longer one of them, and the wealthy reject a family like this with no pedigree and a distinctly different way of thinking. 

Sam’s story reflects the message of today’s Liturgy of the Word.

Isaiah sets us off into a mind and soul-expanding journey with God’s pronouncement, « My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways. » This statement, applicable to every era, interprets the first commandment: « I am the Lord, your God, you shall not have false gods before me. »

Most of us probably don’t worry much about that commandment. We certainly don’t worship idols!

Isaiah would tell us that’s our way of thinking. He would explain that injustice, prejudice, unwavering opinions, and prioritizing money and success are all forms of idolatry. They’re ways of abandoning the demands of the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition who calls for love to be the guiding principle of economic, political and cultural life. (See Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica Humanitas, 186.) That’s what builds the kingdom of Heaven.

To describe the kingdom of Heaven, Jesus told a controversial parable. He described a wealthy man seeking day workers — a group whose plight has remained much the same throughout history. Today in the USA, 86% of day laborers have experienced some form of exploitation; 66% report wage theft, according to the Bureau of Business Research. Even U.S. citizens have little recourse when threatened with job loss: Partial pay is better than none. Many are part of the 14% of the U.S. population experiencing food insecurity, the Department of Agriculture says. 

These statistics offer a contemporary perspective on Jesus’ story.

The star of Jesus’ parable is the landowner whose estate represents the kingdom of Heaven. Reading between the lines, we realize that this fellow is not looking so much for laborers as for people who need work. So, he keeps going back to the marketplace even in the late afternoon. The ones he encounters explain that they had no intention of spending the day idle, but nobody hired them.

Unlike many estate owners, this fellow really saw the job seekers and their plight. Without steady work, their chances of providing food for their families were perpetually precarious. How frustrated must they have felt as they stood around desperately hoping to be picked for a job? What were they thinking about their hungry children? What would they tell their wives?

The landowner saw them as they were: worried, willing, unchosen. Hiring them on the spot, he gave them hope for at least a little to bring home. 

What did they think when he gave a full day’s wage to them and to the ones who had labored all day? It was a shocking deviation from the way things were supposed to be. This crazy businessman cared more about workers than grapes! Dignity over profit! 

He operated from a different mindset. Today, he might be called a socialist whose practices would lead to ruin. How dangerously far might things like this go?

Jesus designed this parable to shake everybody up — especially the most privileged. He wanted not just to provoke them, but to elicit some recognition of others, especially the poor. He hoped to jolt them into new ways of thinking, to free them from unnecessary self-interest so they might appreciate God’s perspective on the world.

Magnifica Humanitas (14) reflects this parable. Our outrageous landowner had a perspective and set of values contrary to normal ways of thinking. Scandalously (to some), he prioritized people. He sought the common good, honoring the dignity of every person, he practiced an option for the poor and promoted peace and justice.

We’ve allowed our world to become structured by inequality, rivalry and contention. We’ve accepted and even idolized systems that cause poverty and environmental destruction. Too many accept the lies that underpin division. As far as Earth is from heaven, so far are these from God’s ways. 

According to Magnifica Humanitas, our task today is to design systems and a culture centered on human beings rather than on the accumulation of wealth or power. The kingdom of heaven is like this. This new way of living can go as far as we allow it. 

Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, the U.S. Catholic bishops’ conference president, sent a letter on Sept. 8 urging President Donald Trump to cease the deportation of “large numbers” of Haitian immigrants. 

Citing the violence in Haiti, Coakley wrote: “As citizens of this great country, we have been entrusted with a tremendous moral responsibility, and this is true most of all for you as our head of state, Mr. President. To this end, I respectfully ask: What good is the immense wealth, prosperity, and influence with which we have been blessed as a nation if not used in service of our humanity?”

The letter’s language marked a notable hardening in tone from the U.S. bishops’ conference, though Coakley also wrote that he was “humbly” appealing for Trump’s assistance. 

Last November, the U.S. bishops’ conference released a special pastoral message calling for an end to “indiscriminate mass deportation,” a sign of how seriously the conference is taking deportation policies that could impact nearly 1 in 5 U.S. Catholics directly or through their family. But that message did not name Trump.

In his letter this week, Coakley wrote that he was inspired by the massacre of 47 people in Haiti’s Kenscoff farming community to write. Some of the people killed had been taking refuge in a church, and some of those killed were children. Coakley called the violence “unconscionable.”

“I very much wish this recent and tragic example of human life being extinguished, virtually with impunity, was an irregularity in Haiti. Unfortunately, it is not,” Coakley wrote. He told Trump that deportations endanger “innocent human life” and “contribute to the country’s already deepening crisis.”

Since the Trump administration revoked temporary protected status for Haitians in late July, an estimated 350,000 Haitians have been vulnerable to detention and deportation.  

Coakley did acknowledge that the administration could move forward with individual deportations “to advance justice and public safety.”

The Oklahoma City archbishop has often been seen as a conservative, particularly because he is ecclesiastical adviser to the Napa Institute, which unites wealthy Catholics around conservative causes. Coakley’s letter to Trump indicated that he has spoken to the president about immigration before, referencing a previous conversation in which Coakley recognized “the importance of regulating immigration and enforcing federal immigration law.” 

Coakley met with Trump in January, the first time that the bishops’ conference president had met with the U.S. president in nearly a decade. Shortly afterward, the administration announced a change to the visa requirement that had forced foreign priests and other religious workers to exit the U.S. for a year between religious visas, which the conference had long sought.

In this Tuesday letter, Coakley wrote, “the Catholic Church is sensitive to the fact that many families, especially mixed-status families, would benefit from ceasing the deportations. The strength of our communities depends, in large part, on the well-being of such families.” He also highlighted Haitian contributions to the economy and health care and invoked religious and patriotic ideals about the right to life. “I know you understand the essential role the United States plays in promoting the inherent value of human life,” he wrote to Trump.

He said that the U.S. bishops would continue to pray for and support immigration reform.

Other faith leaders have also expressed concerns about Haitians facing deportation, including more than 100 Pentecostal leaders who gathered in Washington earlier this week and a separate letter organized by the National Latino Evangelical Coalition and the National Association of Evangelicals urging an extension of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians.

The Peruvian city of Callao announced an unusual tribute to Pope Leo XIV ahead of his November visit to the South American country: the largest statue of the pontiff in the world.

The 45.9-foot-tall statue of Leo will grace a seafront park overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Callao, located in the northern suburbs of Lima, the national capital.

« This work will be a source of pride for all the residents of Callao and a new space for us to come together as a community, » said Mayor César Pérez, according to the newspaper El Comercio. « May the (statue) be a place that transmits faith, hope, and unity, and may this sculpture become a symbol that accompanies families. »

The mayor added that the local government donated park space, while a private firm provided funding for the statue.

The steel and marble statue of the pope with open arms is expected to be installed prior to his arrival in Peru Nov. 11. Pérez expressed hope that the statue would be inaugurated during the pope’s five-day trip to Peru. The visit — a homecoming for Leo, who became a Peruvian citizen while serving as bishop of Chiclayo — will cap an 11-day journey to South America, which includes visits to Uruguay and Argentina.

Leo is expected to arrive in Callao, site of Lima’s international airport, but not spend time in the city, despite serving as apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Callao for 13 months, ending in May 2021.

Pérez remembered Leo driving some 475 miles from Chiclayo to Callao during the COVID-19 pandemic, where, the mayor told EFE, « he oversaw food donations, helping those who have the least and need the most. That was Robert Prevost’s way of working when he was administrator of the Callao Diocese. »

The statue being built in Callao reflects the stature and popularity of Leo in his adopted home country, where Catholic observers say he has emerged as the world’s most prominent Peruvian since his May 2025 election. Observers say excitement for the papal trip is especially strong in northern Peru, where Leo served as an Augustinian missionary and later bishop of Chiclayo from 2015 to 2023.

« What’s being promoted, » by Peruvian church leaders « is how important it is to have a Peruvian pope and how good it is that he’s returning, » Jesuit Fr. José Luis Gordillo, told OSV News.

Church leaders have promoted Leo’s teachings ahead of the visit, with « the result being an emphasis on Leo’s role as someone who will be a relevant leader, a leader relevant to the world, and who will say something relevant to the country, » Gordillo said. « I do believe that the archdiocese (of Lima) and probably the episcopal conference are also expecting that. »

Leo is expected to visit Lima, Chiclayo, Pucallpa and Cusco between Nov. 11 and Nov. 17. Observers say the trip incorporates the three regions of Peru: the coast, mountains and jungle — each representing different cultures and socioeconomic realities.

The official agenda of the pope’s trip to Peru is to be published shortly after Vatican confirmation is received around Sept. 15, Bishop Carlos García Camader of Lurín, president of the Peruvian bishops’ conference, told Agencia Andina.

Pope Francis visited Peru in 2018. The late pope never visited his native Argentina after being elected in 2013. He never voiced his reasons for not visiting his homeland, but church observers cite deep political divisions in Argentina as a possible motive. Church officials hope Leo’s visit can encourage unity among Argentines.

« It’s a very polarized country, » Bishop Dante Braida of La Rioja, Argentina, told OSV News. « There are two opposing political sectors, which are vying for power. … They’ve had great difficulty finding common ground to build a country together.

« On the other hand, there’s a church that tries to accompany a process of dialogue, of openness, and that tries to be close to the grassroots, » he continued. « It’s a country with a certain degree of complexity, but the pope will always be welcome, and we trust that his presence will be a presence of unity. And of dialogue. That’s what’s needed. »

Leo arrives in Buenos Aires Nov. 8. Archbishop Jorge García Cuerva of Buenos Aires has provided details of the pope’s proposed itinerary, which, in the Argentine capital, includes celebrating Mass at the Monumento a los Españoles; an encounter with labor leaders, workers and public and private officials at the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina; and a visit to the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione, which serves people with developmental disabilities. Leo is also expected to visit a prison in Buenos Aires.

The pope will spend Nov. 10 in the city of Cordoba, roughly 425 miles northwest of Argentina, where he will celebrate Mass and later meet with priests, religious and seminarians at the local cathedral. He will celebrate Mass the next day at the Basilica of Our Lady of Luján near Buenos Aires — a shrine to the namesake patroness of Argentina — before flying onward to Peru. No pope has visited Argentina since St. John Paul II in 1987.

Leo’s first trip to South America begins Nov. 6 in Uruguay, the least religious country in Latin America. The pope is scheduled to visit the cities of Montevideo, the capital, along with Paysandú on the border with Argentina and Florida. His visit to Florida on Nov. 8 coincides with celebrations of Our Lady of the 33, the national patroness.

Official details of the pope’s itinerary in Uruguay are expected to be released sometime after Sept. 21, said Gabriela Gómez, press director for the Archdiocese of Montevideo.

Touring the U.S.-Mexico border between Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, Archbishop Stefan Hesse of Hamburg said the towering fortifications and razor wire dividing the two border communities evoked a painful memory in his own country’s history: the Berlin Wall.

« In a way, the inhumanity and massiveness of these border fortifications reminded me of the Berlin Wall, which divided the German capital for nearly 30 years and caused great suffering for the people living there, » Hesse told OSV News in an Aug. 31 interview.

« I found the border situation to be disturbing, » added the archbishop, who serves as chairman of the German bishops’ conference’s migration commission. « Two cities that had essentially grown together into one — and whose populations remain connected in many ways — are now hermetically separated by a border wall and razor wire. »

Hesse embarked on an Aug. 20-27 « solidarity trip » to assess the humanitarian reality along key migration routes, the German bishops’ conference said in a statement published Aug. 20.

Also serving as the conference’s special envoy for refugee issues, the archbishop has embarked on similar trips in past years, including Ukraine, Kenya and Egypt. During his visit, Hesse met migrants, volunteers, aid agency representatives, civil and church leaders, including Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, immediate past chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration.

Recalling his visit to Mexico, Hesse told OSV News that, due to restrictive U.S. policies, the country that was once « a country of origin and transit » has now become « a destination country for migrants » and is also facing additional challenges from deportations « out of the U.S. »

The German prelate said he was struck by two distinct encounters, one « with an elderly gentleman from Cuba whom I met at the church-run Albergue Belén (“Bethlehem Shelter”) in Tapachula. »

« He lived and worked in the U.S. for 46 years, was well integrated, and has now been deported to southern Mexico — to a region he doesn’t know and where he has little prospect of a dignified life in his old age. His fate is like that of a tree that has been uprooted, » he said.

The second was with a young man from Ciudad Juárez who, at a young age, was involved in organized crime and had also worked as a « smuggler » who guided people along the treacherous border.

« The young man told me with remarkable openness how, with the help of his faith, he finally managed to escape the clutches of organized crime. Now he is involved in a project that helps young migrants find their way in Mexico, » the archbishop said.

Hesse told OSV News that amid the suffering of those along the border, he had heard and witnessed that « without the church’s services, the situation would be much worse. »

« Approximately 80% of the shelters are run by the church. There, refugees and migrants not only receive a roof over their heads but are also treated with dignity as human beings, » he said.

One such example, he noted, was the CAFEMIN shelter run by the Sisters of St. Joseph in Mexico City, who « truly brings Pope Francis’s four verbs to life: welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating migrants. »

However, the archbishop also noticed that there is a « wide gulf » between Christian shelters that are « centered on the dignity of every single person » and detention centers « where migrants are primarily viewed as a threat. »

« Certainly, it is the state’s responsibility to regulate migration. But during my trip to Mexico and the U.S., I also witnessed what happens when migration is treated exclusively as a security issue: A fundamental sense of humanity ends up being lost, » he told OSV News.

In Ciudad Juárez, Hesse was joined by Seitz in a visit to a migrant youth center. He expressed his gratitude to the bishop for welcoming him to the Diocese of El Paso and noted the diocese’s support for migrant initiatives in Mexico.

However, he said, what stood out was « the spiritual dimension, » where people on either side of the border « see themselves as one large Catholic community on both banks of the Rio Grande. »

« When Bishop Seitz and I celebrated a beautiful Mass in Ciudad Juárez with Mexicans, Americans and migrants, the bishop summed it up perfectly: In the church, there are no borders. That is how Catholicism is brought to life, » he told OSV News.

Drawing a parallel between the migration crisis in the U.S. and growing tensions in Europe, especially in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta and in countries along the Mediterranean sea routes, Hesse expressed concern that, in most circumstances, « the rule of law and the respect for human rights are declining. »

« As soon as wealthy countries focus primarily on deterrence and externalization, they fail to live up to their humanitarian responsibilities and risk losing sight of human dignity, » the archbishop said.

Ensuring safe pathways for people seeking protection, while dedicating « sufficient resources for development cooperation, » he said, would help reduce risks for those fleeing their homeland and address « the root causes of forced migration. »

« Surely people in the industrialized nations of North America and Europe have their own set of worries, » Hesse told OSV News. « However, it is important to keep reminding ourselves of the situation in other regions of the world. »

« If we, as Americans and Europeans, reflect on such examples of charity and allow ourselves to be moved by them, we can succeed in overcoming our tendency to indifference and self-centeredness, » he said.

[Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.]

Focusing on young people and vulnerable communities facing uncertainty in a rapidly-changing world, Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville, Kentucky, is calling on U.S. Catholics to foster an economy « that values the God-given dignity of each person. »

« We must listen to the experiences of workers, families, young people, and communities of color as they struggle to find stability, » Fabre said in a statement released ahead of Labor Day.

Speaking in his capacity as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, Fabre offered the church’s commitment to human dignity as a hopeful sign amid an economy that is being challenged by the rise of artificial intelligence.

« There is widespread concern that artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to higher unemployment and to fewer jobs that can support a family. Young people have been the most impacted so far and also experience the most anxiety about AI’s impact on their work, » Fabre said.

Citing Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV’s recent encyclical on artificial intelligence and the challenges it poses to humanity, Fabre noted the risks that AI poses for workers, which include job insecurity, mass unemployment, reduced agency and increased inequalities.

« Furthermore, AI relies on low-wage workers, who are often hidden and who endure harsh conditions, caught in an exploitative supply chain, » Fabre said.

While artificial intelligence presents new opportunities for humanity, Fabre said it also risks « normalizing a vision that is anti-human. » He said AI systems « can imitate but never replace human intelligence. »

« AI cannot feel, love, discern, or receive God’s grace and wisdom, » Fabre said. « It is not morally neutral and risks creating new forms of exclusion. »

While traditional indicators point to a growing economy, Fabre highlighted data showing that hiring has slowed, especially for unemployed workers, while also noting that unemployment remains high for Black workers, according to an analysis by the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Roughly one-quarter of the labor force are low-wage workers, according to the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis. Among low-wage workers, 72% lack stable and secure jobs, and more than half are people of color.

More than 70% of Americans believe having children is unaffordable, an increase of 13 points in just the last year, according to a study by the College of Family, Home, and Social Sciences at Brigham Young University.

« AI must be carefully developed to ensure it serves the common good and humanity itself, » said Fabre, who added that dignified work « is not merely about productivity, but also participation in God’s creation. »

Said Fabre, « A just economy is not judged on profit alone, but on inclusive growth and protection for the most vulnerable. »

Ensuring just development of AI systems, protecting good jobs and correcting power imbalances exacerbated by technology seem daunting, but Fabre said, « We have been here before. » He cited Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII’s landmark 1891 encyclical that Fabre said « has brought the sacredness of the human person to the questions of work and labor for these last 135 years. »

And on the 40th anniversary of « Economic Justice for All, » the U.S. bishops’ landmark 1986 document on the economy, Fabre said much of its teaching remains relevant.

« As we confront this latest challenge, » Fabre said, « we invite all to be partners in this work. The Church, the government, labor unions, civil society groups, corporations, and others all have a shared responsibility to protect the human person and the dignity of work. »

As new technology reshapes the economy and work, Fabre called on all to be « builders of communion, » to ensure that technological innovation and development « is for the benefit of all, not just a few, and that each person can contribute to the Kingdom of God through their work. »