"In our own day," Pope Leo XIV said, "the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor."
By Dr. Veronica Szcygiel
“Foolish is he who follows the pleasures of this world, because these are always fleeting and bring much pain,” wrote Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati. “The only true pleasure is that which comes to us through faith.”
Jubilee of Young People
These inspiring words from the patron of young adults encapsulates perfectly the spirit of the Jubilee of Young People taking place in Rome from July 28 through Aug. 3. Today’s youth, women and men between the ages of 18 and 35, experience many challenges to their faith. In this secular world, consumerist materialism, global unrest, and social inequities are just a few things that weigh heavily on their hearts.
The late Pope Francis acknowledged that young people are overwhelmed with stress, depression, and fear, which can cause them to lose their trust in God. He urged young people to turn to Christ and become “pilgrims of hope.” In his letter Christus Vivit, he wrote: “Keep following your hopes and dreams. But be careful about one temptation that can hold us back. It is anxiety. Anxiety can work against us by making us give up whenever we do not see instant results.” He urged young people to turn to Christ because in triumphing over death through resurrection, Jesus showed us that “If we hold fast to him, we will have life.”
This message of hope is central to the Jubilee of Young People, estimated to attract more than one million pilgrims from around the world.
Jubilee of Digital Missionaries & Catholic Influencers
July 28-29 will specifically focus on the internet, with the Vatican celebrating the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries & Catholic Influencers. Acknowledging the role of social media in the lives of young people, the Church seeks to support those who are evangelizing through various media platforms.
At the 2024 World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal, Cardinal Jose Tolentino de Mendonca, the prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, stated: “Today the Church needs you, dear digital influencers, to be bearers of hope in those new spaces of social relationships.”
Uppermost on everyone's mind no doubt will be artificial intelligence (AI), which Pope Leo XIV has made a priority. Addressing the College of Cardinals after his election, the Holy Father wrote:
I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII, in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum, addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.
On May 17, Pope Leo addressed members of the “Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice” foundation:
Pope Leo XIII, who lived in an age of momentous and disruptive change, sought to promote peace by encouraging social dialogue between capital and labor, technology and human intelligence, and different political cultures and nations. In the context of the ongoing digital revolution, we must rediscover, emphasize and cultivate our duty to train others in critical thinking, countering temptations to the contrary, which can also be found in ecclesial circles.
Hopefully, this Jubilee will inspire digital missionaries and influencers to avoid serious dangers that AI, when misused, can cause and make the best use of this new, powerful tool.
Canonizations Sept. 7
These two Jubilees will be made even more special with the canonization of both Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati and Bl. Carlo Acutis on Sept. 7. Though their respective lives (24 and 15, respectively) were short, each demonstrated a life lived fully in Christ.
May God give all youth in the Church renewed strength so that, as Pope Francis wrote, they may continue, “with creativity and courage, to announce God’s Mercy.”
Learn more on our Jubilee Year of Hope page.
Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash.
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