Pope Leo XIV Addresses UNESCO on Human Dignity and Technology

Pope Leo XIV spoke at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on September 25, 2026, reminding the assembly of the Holy See's longstanding cooperation with the organization and urging it to be a space where humanity reflects on its history, present, and future. He said education must help a person to be, not only to have, and posed the central question of our time: what does it mean to be human? He offered three foundational markers: every person is born as a son or daughter and therefore belongs to fraternal bonds; every person enters the world weak and in need; every person possesses freedom that reveals itself in responsibility for self, others, and the world. This dignity persists through illness, old age, disability, and even death. He quoted the 1945 UNESCO Charter preamble: "Thoughts of war arise in the minds of men, therefore the idea of peace must be rooted in the minds of men." The post‑war era taught that agreements alone are insufficient without a shared culture and a will for peace; peace is not a balance of forces nor a compromise result but the fruit of justice. He noted the paradox of new technologies: machines are increasingly credited with intelligence while people are judged by productivity and dismissed as "unproductive"; AI processes data but cannot answer the question of life's meaning.

Technologies must remain in service of humanity, not become instruments of domination. He emphasized the global community's special responsibility to protect children and youth in the digital environment, praising UNESCO's media‑literacy program (MIL). He warned that unity imposed by force and the pursuit of domination resembles Babylon, appearing today in globalization without brotherhood, financial colonialism, ideological pressure, and "contacts without connections" that reduce life to a commodity. In contrast, unity where differences are not erased but flourish in harmony resembles Pentecost. He highlighted other pressing challenges: modern communication has brought the world closer but has not made it more truthful; excess information does not lead to wisdom; without truth, words become subject to the logic of violence and the will of the strong, and law detached from conscience becomes a commodity. Therefore media literacy and responsibility for speech become matters of social justice. "There is only one earth for all and one common human nature. A person cannot be understood by dividing what belongs to him: body and soul, private life and relationships, our relations with others and with the environment. Everything is part of the unity of our life.

Thus cultivating the earth implies cultivating humanity, its inhabitants." Care for a person and for creation are inseparable, because the ecological crisis has an anthropological dimension; the measure of such care is the attitude toward the most vulnerable, unborn children, war victims, people with disabilities, the elderly, migrants, and refugees, all those society deems "unproductive." He called on international organizations not to succumb to a crisis of trust and not to regard dialogue as an obstacle, but to see disagreement as a threat; differences can become a source of common good, a contribution uniquely provided by religious traditions that pose the most important questions to humanity. "We are not moving toward non‑existence. That is why the human soul, in its relationship with God, feels even more acutely the call to peacebuilding through the alliance of peoples who recognize each other as children of one Father, as brothers and sisters." In his concluding remarks he urged UNESCO to be a meeting place where education, science, and culture help peoples get to know one another, overcome fears, and "sow a good harvest for the future" in the present.