Father Vincent DeRosa returns to The Soul of Enterprise to examine Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical and a landmark reflection on safeguarding human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence. Building on our earlier conversation about Rerum Novarum, we explore how Catholic social teaching continues to evolve while remaining rooted in timeless principles.
Ron, Ed, and Father Vincent discuss why the Church sees AI as a defining challenge of our era, drawing compelling parallels between today’s technological revolution and the Industrial Revolution that inspired Rerum Novarum 135 years ago. Together they unpack themes including the common good, human dignity, work, innovation, and the ethical responsibilities of business leaders as AI reshapes organizations and society.
Whether you’re religious or not, this conversation offers a thoughtful framework for asking one of the most important questions of our time: How do we ensure that technology serves humanity—rather than the other way around?
About Father Vincent DeRosa
Father Vincent DeRosa is a Catholic priest, educator, and thoughtful commentator on the intersection of faith, ethics, technology, and economics. Returning to The Soul of Enterprise after his popular discussion of Rerum Novarum, Father Vincent helps translate centuries of Catholic social teaching into practical insights for today’s business leaders. His work explores how enduring principles of human dignity and the common good can guide decision-making in the age of artificial intelligence.
SHOW NOTES
Segment one
Here is a link to MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS directly from The Vatican https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html
And here is Ed’s margined and lined PDF for easier note taking.
“Technology is a thing to be used. It’s not a relationship to be had.” —Father Vincent DeRosa
From the introduction of MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS: “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html
Referenced by Father Vincent DeRosa today, BOTH OpenAI and Anthropic have witnessed their systems breach (attack?) other company networks. Here are the links https://www.anthropic.com/news/investigating-incidents-cybersecurity-evals https://openai.com/index/hugging-face-model-evaluation-security-incident/
From Chapter Four of MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS: “The use of digital platforms and AI systems is driving profound changes in public and political communication. Tools that could foster dialogue and participation are often used to construct distorted narratives and blur the boundaries between truth and falsehood, mixing facts with opinions.” https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html#Truth_as_a_common_good
Segment two
Send us an email to asktsoe@thresholdnow.com and Ed will send back a PDF version of MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS along with space for notes and your thoughts.
“In Christianity, the common good is the search for dignity for everybody together, and all of us proceeding toward God together, and having the resources to do that.” —Father Vincent DeRosa
“There must always be, in human relationships, a human proactive choice to sacrifice the self for the sake of another.” —Father Vincent DeRosa
From Chapter Two of MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS on the principle of subsidiarity: “The principle of subsidiarity stems from the very same understanding of the human person that has guided our reflection on dignity and the common good.” https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html#The_principle_of_subsidiarity
Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville https://www.amazon.com/dp/0226805360?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
Segment three
From Chapter Five of MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS: “Finally, I would like to employ the expression “to disarm,” which is close to my heart. Disarming AI means freeing it from the mentality of “armed” competition, which today is not limited simply to the military context, but is also an economic and cognitive phenomenon.” https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html#The_need_to_disarm_words
This might be the deepest question asked on the show today. From Ron to Father Vincent DeRosa: “AI isn’t just a technological revolution. It could be a spiritual one, too. Is that possible?”
“It is incumbent upon man to use his time well to develop philosophy and poetry and the arts, and all of those other benefits that we all year for.” —Father Vincent DeRosa
Segment four
From Chapter Four of MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS: “The pursuit of greater profits cannot justify choices that systematically sacrifice jobs, because the human person is an end, not a means, and the economic order must remain subordinate to human dignity and the common good.” https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html#problem_of_unemployment
From paragraph 118, chapter 3 of MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS: “Our relationship with life seems to be in crisis today. Everything that appears as a “limit” — incapacity, illness, old age, suffering, vulnerability — tends to be seen primarily as a defect to be corrected, rather than as a reality through which our humanity matures and opens itself to relationship. And yet we must remember that humanity flourishes not despite limitations, but often through them.” https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html#CHAPTER_THREE
A big THANK YOU to Father Vincent DeRosa for joining us today. There is no self promotion necessary. He would truly want as many listeners as possible to read MAGNIFICA HUMANITAS. Here is a link directly from The Vatican. It is a modern document and easy to read. https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/encyclicals/documents/20260515-magnifica-humanitas.html
Bonus Content is Available As Well
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