Updated: September 1, 2026
Human Dignity, Work & the Common Good
Before Pope Leo XIV gets into the specifics of artificial intelligence in Magnifica Humanitas, he does something important: he looks backward.
Chapter 1 traces more than a century of Catholic social teaching and shows how the Church has responded to the “new things” of each generation—from industrialization and workers’ rights to globalization, economic power, environmental concerns, and now artificial intelligence.
That history matters because AI is not simply another gadget for Catholics to decide whether we like or dislike. It raises questions about work, human dignity, power, profit, freedom, and the common good.
And the Church already has a framework for thinking about all of those things.
Why Does the Church Talk About Economics and Technology?
It can be tempting to think the Church should stick to explicitly spiritual matters and leave economics, technology, politics, and work to everyone else.
But Catholic social teaching has never worked that way.
The Church’s primary concern is our salvation, but our daily lives matter too. The way people work, earn money, raise families, participate in society, and are treated by economic systems can either support or undermine human flourishing.
That is why Pope Leo XIV begins by reminding us that the Church has a responsibility to interpret the realities of each age in light of the Gospel.
The goal is not for the Church to replace governments, businesses, or institutions. It is to bring the truths of the faith into the conversation and help us discern what actually serves the dignity of the person and the common good.
The Gospel Is Still the Standard
One of the strongest ideas in Chapter 1 is also one of the simplest.
The world changes. The Gospel does not.
Technology changes. Economic systems change. Political structures change. The challenges facing workers and families change.
But the Gospel continues to give us a way to ask the questions that matter:
Does this humanize people or dehumanize them?
Does it liberate or oppress?
That becomes especially important as technology advances faster than our ability to understand all of its consequences.
We may not have a specific paragraph in Scripture explaining how to use generative AI or automate a workplace. But we do have enduring truths about what a human person is, what work is for, how the vulnerable should be treated, and what obligations we have to one another.
Work Is More Than a Cost of Production
The discussion of work in this chapter is especially important for a show about money.
Catholic social teaching does not view work merely as a way to generate income.
Work is a human good.
Through work, people exercise creativity, freedom, cooperation, skill, and responsibility. We contribute something to our families and communities.
That changes the way we evaluate an economy.
A company cannot judge a worker solely by how cheaply that person can produce something. And a society cannot judge success solely by efficiency or profit.
Pope Leo XIV returns to a principle found throughout the Church’s social teaching: human labor comes before a system focused only on finance or productivity.
That has obvious implications for conversations about automation.
If technology makes a company more efficient, that may be good. But efficiency alone cannot answer the moral question.
We also have to ask what happens to the worker.
What Do Fair Wages Tell Us About an Economy?
Chapter 1 repeatedly returns to fair remuneration.
Saint John Paul II described a just wage as one of the clearest ways to evaluate whether an economic system is actually treating workers as people rather than simply as costs.
That can be uncomfortable to think about.
We live in a global economy built around finding cheaper ways to manufacture, ship, sell, and automate. Those lower costs can benefit consumers—but they can also hide the human cost somewhere farther down the supply chain.
Sometimes we do not see who made the inexpensive item we bought online, what they were paid, what conditions they worked in, or whether they had meaningful alternatives.
Catholic social teaching asks us not to stop at the price tag.
The dignity of the worker remains part of the equation.
Markets Can Be Good—But They Need a Moral Framework
This chapter is not an argument against markets or private enterprise.
In fact, Pope Leo XIV notes the positive potential of both.
The question is what they are ordered toward.
Markets and businesses can create jobs, solve problems, produce useful goods, reward innovation, and generate wealth. Those are real goods.
But economic freedom is not disconnected from morality.
Profit cannot become the highest good.
When business decisions sacrifice the vulnerable, exploit workers, damage communities, or treat people as disposable in pursuit of a better bottom line, something has gone wrong.
That distinction matters as increasingly powerful technologies are controlled by enormous companies whose reach can extend across national borders.
The Common Good Is Bigger Than “My Good”
Another theme running throughout Chapter 1 is the common good.
That can be difficult in a culture that often teaches us to think first in terms of individual advantage.
What makes my life easier?
What saves me money?
What makes my business more profitable?
What helps my family get ahead?
Those are not necessarily bad questions. But Catholic social teaching adds another one:
What does this do to everyone else?
The common good does not erase individual rights or personal responsibility. It asks us to consider whether the structures we create allow people and communities to flourish together.
That is where principles like solidarity and subsidiarity become essential—and Pope Leo will dig more deeply into those in Chapter 2.
Catholic Social Teaching Is Still Developing
Chapter 1 walks through the contributions of Pope Leo XIII, Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Francis, and the Second Vatican Council.
Each faced different circumstances.
The Industrial Revolution raised new questions about labor and capital. Later generations confronted world wars, globalization, environmental concerns, changing economic systems, and new concentrations of power.
The Church did not throw away what came before each time something changed.
Instead, she continued applying the same Gospel truths to new circumstances.
That is the foundation Pope Leo XIV establishes before turning more directly toward AI.
Artificial intelligence presents new questions, but Catholics are not beginning from zero.
We already have principles for evaluating what happens next:
- The dignity of every human person
- The value of work
- The common good
- Solidarity
- Subsidiarity
- The universal destination of goods
- Care for creation
- Peace and fraternity
The technology may be new.
The truths we use to judge it are not.
What Comes Next in Magnifica Humanitas
Chapter 1 gives us the history.
Chapter 2 will begin unpacking these principles more directly: the human person, the common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, social justice, and the universal destination of goods.
Only after establishing that foundation does Pope Leo XIV begin applying it more specifically to the technological changes happening around us.
That may be a useful approach for all of us.
Before asking, “What can AI do?” perhaps we first need to be very clear about what technology is for—and who it is supposed to serve.
Read Along With Us
Read the full text of Magnifica Humanitas here:
Free Workshop: The 12 Money Milestones
If your finances feel like a collection of good intentions without a clear order, join us for our free workshop:
The 12 Money Milestones: A Step-By-Step Plan Every Catholic Needs
Wednesday, September 9 at 9 PM Eastern / 8 PM Central
In one hour, you’ll learn which financial milestone you should focus on next, why your previous plan may have fallen apart, and why paying off debt may not actually be your first step.
Register free at: https://walletwin.com/workshop/
