On October 2, 2025 — Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels — Pope Leo XIV told representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean Medical Confederation (CONFEMEL) that artificial intelligence can assist medicine but must never supplant the human encounter at the heart of care. “The algorithm cannot substitute a gesture of closeness or a word of consolation,” he said during an audience in the Consistory Hall.
Addressing an organization that brings together more than two million physicians across the region, the Pope framed the doctor-patient relationship as a meeting of two persons -- “with their bodies and their inner selves, with their history” -- that demands dialogue, trust, and touch.
He drew on Saint Augustine’s language for Christ as both “physician” and “medicine,” underscoring that word and flesh, communication and physical presence, belong in any therapeutic act.
Like Christ and the saints
Leo XIV welcomed technological progress but was unequivocal about limits: AI “can and should be a great help in improving clinical care, but nothing can take the place of the doctor,” he said, echoing Benedict XVI’s description of physicians as “reserves of love, bringing serenity and hope to the suffering.”
To ground his appeal, the Pope pointed to the Gospel scene of Jesus touching the man with leprosy — a healing that was not “a mechanical gesture” but a personal encounter that restored health and dignity.
He also held up Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, the Venezuelan “doctor of the poor,” who united scientific excellence with service to those most in need.
The reference to Hernández carries special resonance this month: Pope Leo XIV is set to canonize seven blesseds on Sunday, October 19, 2025 — among them Dr. Hernández — during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square. For many in Latin America, the physician-saint’s witness offers a living template for humane, person-centered care in an age of rapid innovation.
Why this matters beyond Catholic circles
Healthcare systems everywhere are integrating AI for diagnostics, triage, and workflow. The Pope’s message doesn’t reject these tools; it places them in service of the clinician’s conscience and the patient’s story. In practical terms, that means algorithms inform decisions, but they don’t deliver bad news, hold a hand, or earn trust. That work remains human — and sacred to believers and nonbelievers alike.
As the Church prepares to honor a physician-saint on October 19, the Pope’s message lands with timely clarity: let technology assist, but let the healing begin with a face, a name, and a touch.
