“This Good Work” is the Congregation’s bi-monthly e-newsletter to give witness to Precious Blood Spirituality through the lens of social justice, rooted in Gospel values and Catholic social teaching. In it we share real, legitimate information and ways Sisters are thinking about and living out many issues of peace, justice and ecology. This is curated by Peace, Justice and Ecology Coordinator Jen Morin-Williamson and features articles by Sisters and guest writers.
Capability, Conscience, and the Common Good
Prophets Needed
AI in the Archives: Innovation with Discernment
Digging Deeper into Magnifica Humanitas
Capability, Conscience, and the Common Good
By Jen Morin-Williamson, Peace, Justice, and Ecology Coordinator
Way back when I was a parish youth ministry leader, there was a great deal of concern surrounding email — not only with students but with adults in the parish as well. Email made it easy to communicate quickly and without having to look the recipient in the face. Would we still be able to be pastoral in this new form of communication? Beyond developing the necessary policies, I adopted a simple practice. I tried to write every email, and later every social media post, considering how I would feel if Jesus himself were reading it. Would my words reflect his example? It was a simple question, and I certainly did not always get it right, but it helped guide me.
As I read Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas — which focuses on the impact of artificial intelligence on humanity — I found myself thinking about those early concerns. Technology will continue to evolve and become capable of things we cannot even imagine today. Then again, human beings have always done things that once seemed unimaginable. Sometimes we take enormous risks simply because we can.
I was reminded of this recently during a trip to Yosemite. I learned about people who free-climb — without any ropes or other supports — the sheer rock faces of those massive mountains. My first thought was, “Why?” The answer seemed to be that they could, or at least they wanted to try. We cannot put the technology toothpaste back into the tube any more than we can stop human curiosity and innovation.
The real question is not whether technology will continue to advance. It will. The question is whether our humanity, our compassion and our concern for one another will advance with it. This concern for genuine human relationships, for caring and loving beyond ourselves, is at the heart of what makes us human and what makes a life of faith meaningful. It is also foundational to the common good that Pope Leo emphasizes throughout the encyclical.
There are many ways to imagine the impact of artificial intelligence. Some are genuinely hopeful. I appreciate how AI can help me organize prayers and reflections into words that communicate more clearly what I am trying to express. It can help me share those reflections with others in the hope that they might find encouragement or inspiration.
At the same time, there are important questions that deserve our attention. Will AI replace people’s jobs? Will decisions made by AI take into account their effects on human beings, or will efficiency become the only measure? Even more troubling, will these technologies simply become tools for generating greater wealth and power for a few, with little concern for those who are poor or marginalized?
I first encountered this critique of the “technocratic paradigm” in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’. Pope Leo expands on it in Magnifica Humanitas (MH 104): “Ethical discernment cannot be limited to asking whether we are using a system for good or bad purposes; it must also examine how that system is designed and what vision of the human person and society is embedded in the data and models that guide it.”
Today, the development of AI is largely concentrated in the hands of a relatively small number of individuals. That reality raises concerns. Money and power have always carried the temptation to place personal interests above the common good. The pursuit of greater influence, wealth or control can easily overshadow a commitment to integral human development and human dignity.
That is why I appreciate that Pope Leo does not simply identify the challenges. He also offers a path forward. He calls for transparency in AI systems, including the ethical use of the data on which they are built. He advocates for accountability, evaluation and mechanisms for correction. Most importantly, he insists that this work must be global. That is a Herculean task. Can you imagine representatives from every nation, rich and poor alike, coming together to discern and pursue a shared vision of the common good? If I am being totally honest, I struggle to imagine that.
This is where I need faith. What encourages me about Magnifica Humanitas is that Pope Leo stands within a long tradition of Catholic social teaching that continually challenges us to consider what faithful discipleship looks like in changing times. I am certainly not an ecclesial scholar, but I am grateful for these voices that help us ask not only what we can do, but what we should do, and how we can remain rooted in human dignity, the common good and the Gospel as we navigate the future together.
Above right and above, in slider, photos by Vatican Media.
Prophets Needed
By Sister Mary Garascia, CPPS
There is something called the “prophetic dimension” in Catholic spirituality. The term references the role of prophets in Hebrew Scripture. Over time, as the new Christian (Catholic) church emerged from its Hebrew womb, there was no role like “prophet” in it; instead, there was the Spirit’s gift of being prophetic, or the “prophetic dimension.” What does that mean? Christians, like the Hebrew prophets did, shone the light of their Scriptures on the events and customs of their cultures. When necessary, they used words and actions to “stand against” or help correct what was happening around them. After a few more centuries, this “prophetic dimension” of our faith was seen as a specific gift and role of the men and women who belong to religious orders.
Then Vatican II (1962-65) did something new. In its document The Church in the Modern World, it called on allbaptized Catholics to help the Church read the “signs of the times” and consider what its response should be. Although popes and bishops often speak prophetically, it is lay (non-ordained) persons with their “worldly” education and experience who may have the best possibility of understanding, correcting and directing the signs of our times to the common good and the glory of God. That’s being prophetic, and today all we need to make this prophetic dimension a more conscious part of our Catholic commitment.
Consider AI, a sign of our times today and for the foreseeable future. The implications and dangers of AI are being raised by many, including our Pope Leo in his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas. Tech experts warn that while AI will impact all aspects of work, especially hard-hit will be many “white collar” jobs. So it is possible that children in preschool and primary grades today will not find work in these well-paying positions. We who are older need to help young persons prepare to live happily, but perhaps less expensively. They need our consistent assurance that being as successful or as rich as one’s parents is not necessary. What’s important is forming children to be able to live contented and joy-filled lives that are not dependent on owning stuff. Materialism is an insidious thing. It makes material goods, money, comfort and pleasure become central in our lives and the measure of our success in the eyes of others. We must be prophetic in presenting a simple living style as a spiritual goal for our youth to prize.
Another related spiritual danger, a sign of our times, is the loneliness epidemic. It leads to mental illness and suicide in young people. We all need to become more prophetic about the importance of personal relationships for happy human lives; their foundation for communities of all sorts, including families; and their foundational importance in our Catholic faith.
Finally, consider the jobs that the AI gurus say may best survive in an AI world. These are jobs requiring a “human touch,” jobs needing empathy, compassion and “character” even more than “smarts.” Often it seems to me that the prevailing way of forming our young persons is encouraging competition, even aggressive competition, rather than forming youth to be other-centered and empathic. How can we turn that around?
May the Spirit give us generous amounts of courage, hope and watchfulness to help us address these and other signs of our times.
This is an excerpt of an article by Sister Mary Garascia published by the Diocese of San Bernardino in the Inland Catholic Byte, where she is a regular columnist. Read the full article here.
I am an “AI skeptic.” I rarely use it in my professional life; in my personal life, I use it only when I’m forced to (e.g., Google search results, support chatbots, etc.).
As an archivist, I have followed developments in AI and big data since I completed grad school in 2014; the field had predicted these shifts even before this in the 1990s. There are hundreds of case studies and published archival theories on AI (such as Yakel and Torres, 2003;Colavizza et al., 2021; and Mannheimer et al., 2024). They examine the pros and cons of utilizing AI in archival tasks, especially tackling large backlogs of materials that are sometimes decades old.
A blog post from the archivist for the American Public University System explains the benefits of using AI in archives:
The most exciting aspect for AI in the Archives is for how it can be used for large-scale holdings, and in particular collections of born-digital materials. It truly can be a difference maker in not only processing millions (if not billions) of pages of records and TBs of data to ensure that all of that information is managed properly, discoverable, and done in a timely fashion, i.e., actually in our lifetimes.
However, the issues behind the scenes are many. Particularly in smaller institutions, setting up archives-specific AI tools can be expensive and time-consuming. Also, once these tools are implemented, employers may hesitate to hire trained professionals (especially early in their careers), something we are beginning to see throughout the workforce in general. There are also well-documented and myriad ethical and ecological concerns around the use of AI.
First, Pope Leo explains the importance of vigilance when using AI. He writes, “… AI can be a valuable tool,” but “it calls for a measured and vigilant approach” (§100). He also affirms that the Church is not against progress: “Calling for prudence, rigorous evaluation and even, at times, a slower pace in adopting AI does not mean opposing progress; instead, it is an exercise of responsible care for the human family” (§106). Second, in the section on “what must not be lost,” Pope Leo explains the importance of art, culture and history in grounding humanity: “… certain works have taken on an almost prophetic significance: Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony can be seen as a desire for unity; Guernica as a denunciation of dehumanization; Schindler’s List as a call not to consign the past to oblivion” (§122). These works speak to us in ways that AI-generated artwork probably never will.
Finally, my most important takeaway was Pope Leo’s call for peace and care for the marginalized through authentic dialogue. In the hands of the powerful, AI has the potential to legitimize and weaponize knowledge that benefits only one group of people rather than all people. Pope Leo asks us instead to build a civilization of love based on personal encounter and mutual care.
So, am I still an AI skeptic? I would say yes, but. Yes, I am very much a skeptic, and I don’t think that will change. But, after reading Magnifica Humanitas and reflecting on the archival profession, it’s important to weigh AI’s pros and cons. AI is here to stay. It’s how we decide to use it that defines our future.
By Jen Morin-Williamson, Peace, Justice, and Ecology Coordinator
While Magnifica Humanitas can be a challenging read at times, it is well worth the effort. Fortunately, there is a lot of buzz about it at the moment. There are a growing number of good articles, videos, podcasts and discussion guides that are helping readers engage more deeply with its themes. Here are a few resources that I have found especially helpful as I continue to reflect on and discern Pope Leo XIV’s vision:
Capability, Conscience, and the Common Good 
Prophets Needed 
AI in the Archives: Innovation with Discernment 
Digging Deeper into Magnifica Humanitas 