Pope Leo spoke at length about world peace during his visit this May 14 to Europe's largest university, La Sapienza University in Rome. But he also encouraged the young people to resist the lie that leads to anxiety, explaining how God's love has brought about their existence, and there is no need to earn his love: "We are a desire, not an algorithm!”
Warmly applauded by the students, including young people recently evacuated from the Gaza Strip, the Pope expressed particular concern about the risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence in the military sphere. Urging young people to “restore a genuine sense of purpose,” the Pope also expressed his compassion for students suffering from anxiety linked to “the pressure to perform.”
Saying he had come “with a shepherd’s heart,” the Pope praised the efforts made by the university community on behalf of “those with fewer economic resources,” mentioning “people with disabilities, prisoners, and those who have fled war zones.”
[Read about how the trip was the fulfillment of a dream that Benedict XVI was not able to accomplish.]
Pope Leo praised the collaboration with the Diocese of Rome for “the opening of a university humanitarian corridor from the Gaza Strip.” The presence in the hall of young people recently evacuated from Gaza was highlighted by the rector, to loud applause.
“What is happening in Ukraine, in Gaza and the Palestinian territories, in Lebanon and in Iran illustrates the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies in a spiral of destruction,” the Pope lamented. He emphasised that the university must, on the contrary, offer “a radical ‘yes’ to life!”
“Yes to innocent life, yes to young life, yes to the life of peoples who call for peace and justice!” he urged.
As Pope Francis also often noted, Pope Leo spoke of the dismay of young people in the face of “a world sadly disfigured by wars and by the rhetoric of war.” Against the temptation to create enemies, the university must distinguish itself through “care for complexity and the wise exercise of memory.”
The Pope called for “a spiritual alliance with the sense of justice that dwells in the hearts of young people, with their vocation not to shut themselves away within ideologies and national borders.”
The Pope expressed alarm at the rise in military spending worldwide. “Let us not call ‘defense’ a rearmament that increases tensions and insecurity, impoverishes investment in education and health, undermines trust in diplomacy, and enriches elites who care nothing for the common good,” the Pope protested.
He also warned against a development of artificial intelligence in both civilian and military fields that would "absolve human choices of responsibility or exacerbate the tragedy of conflicts.”
A future yet to be written
The Pope spoke at length of his compassion and concern for students, for whom “the future remains to be written.”
“When the desire for truth becomes a quest, our boldness in study bears witness to the hope of a new world,” explained the Pope, drawing on the example of Saint Augustine, “who was a troubled young man.”
“He also made serious mistakes, but nothing was lost of his passion for beauty and wisdom,” explained the Pope.
Leo XIV paused to reflect on the “sad face” that anxiety sometimes takes on. “We must not hide the fact that many young people are struggling,” he noted. “Everyone goes through difficult times; some, however, may feel that these times will never end,” the pontiff lamented, noting that the poor psychological health of many young people “depends increasingly on a blackmail of expectations and the pressure to perform.”
“This spiritual malaise among many young people reminds us that we are not the sum of what we possess, nor a random collection of matter in a silent cosmos,” he noted, emphasizing the “special dignity” inherent in every person. “We are a desire, not an algorithm!” the pontiff insisted.
For an “educational alliance” between the Church and the university
“Teaching is a form of charity, just as must be the aid given to a migrant at sea, to a poor person on the street, to a desperate conscience,” Pope Leo XIV added, addressing the teaching staff more specifically.
“It is a matter of always loving human life in all circumstances, of valuing its potential, so as to speak to the hearts of young people without focusing solely on their knowledge,” emphasised the former mathematics teacher.
“Knowledge, indeed, serves not only to achieve professional goals, but also to discern who we are,” noted the pontiff, calling for “a new educational alliance” between the Church and this university.
The Bishop of Rome had previously been welcomed into the university chapel. In a brief address to those present, including young people of the Muslim faith, the Pope remarked that “those who seek, who study, who seek the truth, ultimately seek God, will encounter God, will find God precisely in the beauty of creation in its many forms.”
The Pope also noted that this university is “the largest in all of Europe.” Founded by Pope Boniface III in 1303 but now under the auspices of the Italian State, this university has more than 120,000 students enrolled in its various courses and more than 8,500 teaching staff.
“Let us all be builders of peace in the world,” the Pope added, addressing the students gathered outside, before leaving the premises. In the guest book, Leo XIV recalled “the importance of the search for truth, and the great value of study in discovering what God intended to give to all, in the creation of man and woman, in his own image.”
This warm welcome for Pope Leo XIV took place more than 18 years after the cancellation of Benedict XVI’s visit. The German pontiff’s visit, scheduled for January 17, 2008, to mark the opening of the academic year, had to be cancelled due to opposition from 67 professors who criticized him for a speech delivered at the same venue in 1990. Read about that here.
