Pope Leo XIV warns on AI in Paris
Pope warns against 'losing humanity' to AI machines
Saturday, 26 September 2026
Warm-up
- What worries you most about AI in daily life?
- How visible is religion in public life where you live?
- What crowd events has your city handled well or badly?
Vocabulary
- pontiff
- The Pope; the head of the Roman Catholic Church.
- artificial intelligence
- Computer systems that do tasks requiring human-like thinking.
- caution
- To warn someone to be careful about a danger or risk.
- exploitation
- Using people unfairly for advantage or profit.
- secularism
- The principle that government is separate from religion.
- ceremonial
- Related to formal public rituals or displays.
- beatification
- In Catholicism, declaring someone blessed before sainthood.
- sanctuary
- A holy place used for worship and pilgrimage.
Reading
Arriving in Paris for a four-day visit, Pope Leo XIV warned about artificial intelligence, cautioning against "losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines". The pontiff, who earlier urged that AI be "disarmed", linked today’s risks to past exploitation, arguing that societies can normalise harm if they are not vigilant.
After talks at the Élysée with President Emmanuel Macron, he addressed Church and state figures. Although Macron called the visit an honour, he will avoid the Pope’s Masses in line with France’s strict secularism. Brigitte Macron and Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will attend a giant Mass on the Place de la Concorde, where over half a million are expected and areas near the Champs-Élysées are being sealed off.
Crowds lined the route to Notre-Dame for a popemobile ride, and 80,000 young people are due at the Stade de France. On Sunday, 150,000 have registered for Mass at the sanctuary of Lourdes. On Monday in Metz, Leo will honour Robert Schuman, an EU founding father, who is a candidate for beatification. Reports of tensions over a more ceremonial programme were dismissed, and a proposed meeting with Notre-Dame artisans was declined due to a tight schedule.
Comprehension
- What danger from AI did Pope Leo XIV highlight in Paris?
- Why will President Macron skip the Pope’s Masses?
- Where is the large Paris Mass planned to take place?
- How many young people are expected at the Stade de France?
- Whom will the Pope honour in Metz on Monday?
Grammar focus
Formal multiword connectors
Formal multiword connectors are fixed phrases that link ideas (e.g. cause, purpose, result). Use the whole phrase, not part of it: in view of, with a view to, as a result of. (Example 2 constructed.)
- a proposed meeting with Notre-Dame artisans was declined due to a tight schedule.
- Events were scaled back in view of security concerns.
Grammar exercise
Choose the correct option in each sentence.
- Macron will avoid Masses (in line with / in line of) secular rules.
- Areas were sealed off (as result of / as a result of) security.
- Organisers acted (with regard to / with regard of) safety.
- Ceremonies were postponed (with view to / with a view to) reducing numbers.
- He linked risks (in light / in light of) past exploitation.
Discussion
- Should leaders set ethical limits on AI now, or wait?
- How can secularism protect both faith and the state in practice?
- Do giant religious events help cities more than they disrupt them?
- When leaders refuse ceremonial offers, does it help their message?
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