The future of science according to Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV, a mathematician by training, pointed out that these scientific advances can play a positive role in health, energy, agriculture, and knowledge of the material world by “opening new possibilities for human creativity and cooperation.” However, he also warned about the risks this technology poses to nature and global peace. “Artificial intelligence can be used for surveillance, manipulation and discrimination,” he said. 

“Technological progress is never simply a technical matter,” the Pope said. “Every technology reflects, whether explicitly or implicitly, a particular understanding of the human person, of society and of the future we wish to build.” He called for scientific and technological advances to be accompanied by “a corresponding growth in responsibility.”

The Holy Father insisted on the urgency of this responsible approach when dealing with climate change. “We are witnessing heatwaves, droughts, floods, storms, wildfires and other natural disasters with increasing frequency and intensity,” he observed. Leo XIV also noted that “these shocks fall most heavily upon the poor” and “communities with the fewest resources.”

“We cannot respond to these challenges only after disaster has already struck,” Pope Leo XIV emphasized. He urged a shift from “short-term measures to a wise and far-sighted vision for humanity.” This vision, he explained, must be guided by science that is “committed to discovery, while also considering, from the outset, the consequences that scientific and technological choices may have for humanity and for the integrity of creation entrusted to us by God.”

Lastly, the Pontiff encouraged the “Pope’s scientists” to continue their global dialogue with experts in various disciplines, public authorities, young people, civil society, and representatives of different religions.

The Pontifical Academy of Sciences was founded in Rome in 1603 by Federico Cesi and three colleagues during the pontificate of Pope Clement VIII. Pope Pius XI refounded it in its current form in 1936. The academy gathers scientists from all backgrounds, regardless of their religious affiliation. The Pope appoints its 80 members for life after they are elected by their peers.

The prestigious institution has counted some 40 Nobel Prize winners among its ranks. Its chancellor is Cardinal Peter Turkson, and its president is the German agronomist Joachim von Braun. The Vatican also hosts a Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, of which Cardinal Turkson is also the chancellor.