Updated: September 9, 2026
Artificial intelligence is moving fast.
New tools appear almost weekly. Algorithms already shape what we see online, what gets recommended to us, which opportunities reach us, and how companies make decisions.
But in Chapter 2 of Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV asks us to slow down long enough to ask a more important question:
Who benefits from technological progress—and who gets left behind?
In this episode of The Catholic Money Show, Amanda and Jonathan unpack the Catholic social teaching principles Pope Leo says we need before we can evaluate AI well: human dignity, human rights, the common good, the universal destination of goods, subsidiarity, solidarity, and social justice.
Human Dignity Comes First
Pope Leo begins with the human person.
Our dignity does not depend on our abilities, wealth, productivity, status, or even the choices we have made.
It comes from God.
That matters because modern systems increasingly measure people by what they can produce, how efficiently they can perform, or how much economic value they create.
Pope Leo warns against any ideology that suggests people have to earn or justify their worth.
When that happens, people stop being treated as persons and start becoming resources.
That is especially important as AI and automation become more capable.
If a system becomes dramatically more productive but treats workers as disposable, we have to ask whether that progress is actually serving the human person.
Human Rights Need a Foundation
Pope Leo identifies two major dangers facing human rights.
The first is that we continue formally declaring that people have rights while quietly allowing technological systems to violate human dignity.
The second is deeper: society forgets why those rights exist in the first place.
From a Catholic perspective, human rights are not something governments simply decide to grant.
They flow from the dignity already present in every human person.
That includes the most fundamental right: the right to life.
If society loses its understanding of where human dignity comes from, rights that seem untouchable today can eventually become negotiable tomorrow.
And that becomes especially dangerous when powerful institutions control the systems making more and more decisions about our lives.
The Common Good Is More Than “What Works for Me”
One of the first principles Pope Leo explains is the common good.
The common good does not mean everybody gets exactly the same thing.
It also does not mean sacrificing every individual interest for the group.
Instead, it refers to the social conditions that allow people—both individually and together—to flourish.
That requires us to look beyond our own immediate advantage.
It is not enough to say:
Does this make my life easier?
Does this save my company money?
Does this make my investments more profitable?
Catholic social teaching asks another question:
What does this decision do to everyone else?
That question becomes increasingly important as technologies affect millions or even billions of people at once.
Who Owns the Digital World?
One of the most striking parts of Chapter 2 comes when Pope Leo applies the universal destination of goods to the digital world.
Traditionally, this principle reminds us that the goods of creation ultimately exist for the benefit of the whole human family.
Private property is real and legitimate.
But ownership also comes with responsibility.
Pope Leo then expands that conversation into areas we may not normally think about as “goods”:
- Patents
- Algorithms
- Digital platforms
- Technological infrastructure
- Data
When these resources become concentrated in the hands of a small number of people or companies, a new divide can emerge between those who can fully participate in technological progress and those who remain on the margins.
That does not mean private companies cannot own technology.
It does mean ownership cannot be evaluated only by asking whether it is legally or financially profitable.
We also have to ask whether it serves the common good.
What Subsidiarity Means in the Age of Big Tech
Subsidiarity says decisions should generally be made at the lowest competent level, as close as possible to the people actually affected.
Families should make decisions families can make.
Local communities should make decisions local communities can make.
Higher authorities should support those smaller institutions rather than simply replacing them.
But Pope Leo points out something particularly important about the digital age.
Today, the highest level of power is not always government.
Major technology companies can exercise enormous influence over the conditions of everyday life.
Their algorithms influence what information people encounter.
Their platforms shape communication.
Their policies affect businesses, creators, families, and communities around the world.
And ordinary people do not necessarily have meaningful representation inside those corporations.
That creates an entirely new challenge for subsidiarity.
Solidarity Means We Cannot Look Away
If subsidiarity asks who should make the decision, solidarity reminds us who we are responsible for.
We are interconnected.
The choices made around AI, algorithms, platforms, and data do not affect only the people using them today.
They can affect children, future generations, workers, vulnerable communities, and entire countries.
Pope Leo argues that solidarity requires decisions about technology to consider more than immediate benefit for a small group of people.
We have to consider the impact on everyone.
That is a much higher standard than simply asking whether a product works.
Social Justice in the Digital Age
Pope Leo then brings these principles together through social justice.
He specifically warns about new forms of technological exclusion:
People who lack access to basic technology.
Communities subjected to invasive surveillance.
Groups harmed by opaque algorithms.
People who are excluded from economic or social opportunities because they cannot participate fully in the digital economy.
These are no longer hypothetical concerns.
The systems already exist.
The challenge is figuring out whether we will shape them according to human dignity and the common good—or simply accept whatever develops because it is efficient or profitable.
Technology Is Not Neutral
Toward the end of the chapter, Pope Leo gives us one of the most useful questions in the entire document.
Technological innovation—including artificial intelligence—is not neutral.
It can promote participation and justice.
Or it can deepen inequality, control, and exclusion.
So the question Catholics need to ask is not merely:
Can we build it?
Or:
Will it make money?
Or even:
Will it make life more convenient?
The deeper question is:
Does this help individuals and peoples become more fully human and more fraternal?
That is where the principles of Catholic social teaching stop being abstract ideas and become criteria for real-world decisions.
What Comes Next
Chapter 2 finishes setting the foundation.
Next, Pope Leo moves directly into:
Technology and Dominance: The Grandeur of Humanity in Light of the Promise of AI.
That is where the conversation begins turning much more explicitly toward artificial intelligence itself.
But first, we needed this framework.
Because if we do not know what the human person is, what rights are for, what the common good requires, or what responsibilities we have toward one another, we will have no meaningful way to decide whether technological progress is actually progress.
Read Along With Us
Read the full text of Magnifica Humanitas:
Free Workshop: The 12 Money Milestones 💸
Join Amanda and Jonathan for:
The 12 Money Milestones: A Step-By-Step Plan Every Catholic Needs
Wednesday, September 9 at 9 PM Eastern / 8 PM Central
They’ll walk through the WalletWin Method, including the four financial phases and 12 Money Milestones, so you can identify the financial step you should actually be working on next.
Everyone who joins live will receive the Money Milestone Map, and registered attendees will have access to a 96-hour replay.
Register free:
https://walletwin.com/workshop/
This Episode Is Sponsored by Catholic Financial Planners Network
The Catholic Financial Planners Network helps Catholics find financial advisors who understand that faith and finances belong together.
Whether you are investing according to Catholic values, preparing for retirement, planning for a growing family, or thinking about the legacy you want to leave, a Catholic financial planner can help you make financial decisions aligned with what matters most.
Faithful stewardship starts with wise counsel.
Find a Catholic financial advisor:
