Nathaniel Report takes deep dive into Leo’s first encyclical

In the editorial in the latest Nathaniel Report, Dr John Kleinsman, director of the Nathaniel Centre for Bioethics, placed Pope Leo XIV in conversation with John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and its critique of “the machine man”. Just as Steinbeck challenges the systemic mistreatment and marginalisation of refugees in early 20th-century America and calls for new forms of solidarity and belonging, so too Magnifica Humanitas exposes how the effects of AI must be countered by inaugurating a “civilisation of love”.

In the first article in the latest edition, Michael Fitzsimons asks whether AI can “deliver a common good”. Drawing on the encyclical, he argues that AI must be governed to protect human dignity.

In the second article, Dr Katie Marcar reflects upon Pope Leo’s call to challenge and critique systems of dehumanisation. This critique, she argues, provides the basis for new kinds of “conversation” to take place on decolonisation in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Several articles discuss the implications of AI for humanity from particular perspectives: Julianne Hickey examines how Magnifica Humanitas foregrounds and amplifies the voices of women; Dave Moskovitz provides a Jewish software engineer’s perspective on AI; Fr John Owens SM asks what, exactly, constitutes the core anthropological problem of AI from a Catholic perspective.

Another article discusses Pope Leo XIV’s insistence that “just war theory” is now “outdated”. This piece anticipates Support Life Sunday 2026 and its overall theme of peace.

The plight of refugees and climate change are among other topics addressed.

FULL STORY

In this issue – Nathaniel Report 79