Lent at the Vatican this year feels like Advent in some ways, looking forward to long-expected moves by Pope Leo XIV. There are Vatican and archdiocesan appointments to be made, and there’s the likelihood of an encyclical. A social encyclical from Leo will no doubt treat a range of topics, but AI is bound to be the focus of attention from the media and therefore from those who learn of it second-hand through news accounts. The Pope’s words are likely to draw intense and widespread interest, since bewilderment and anxiety over AI grow more acute every day.
