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Magnifica humanitas and the call to holiness

The connection with his predecessor is underscored by the fact that Magnifica humanitas is dated May 15^th, the same day that Leo XIII, 135 years earlier, published the first modern social encyclical Rerum novarum. Here, I do not summarise Magnifica humanitas. All of us can read the text by ourselves (editor’s note: the document and summaries are available on the Magnifica humanitas section of this website). The numbers in parentheses refer to the encyclical.

Leo XIV is an American Augustinian who chose to live with the poor in Peru as a missionary. Social concern for the human dignity of the poor is his vocation to holiness in Christ. His personal story influences him in his papacy and in his first encyclical which is a defence of human dignity against technocratic domination. Over the last months, Pope Leo XIV has been preparing the ground for his first major doctrinal document. I summarise this preparation in four main points.

“Leo XIV is an American Augustinian who chose to live with the poor in Peru as a missionary. Social concern for the human dignity of the poor is his vocation to holiness in Christ. His personal story influences him in his papacy and in his first encyclical which is a defence of human dignity against technocratic domination.”

Firstly, the overall aim of Catholic social teaching is holiness. In the past, he insisted that social action requires spreading the Gospel: “For if we do not give Christ in his entirety, we will always be giving extremely little.” (see footnote 1) In his first encyclical he maintains the Christological focus and the reference to transcendence through grace: “Social endeavors cannot be separated from a personal relationship with Christ”, he writes (44). Catholic social teaching “brings us to the very heart of our faith: the mystery of the living God, revealed in Jesus Christ…”. (48) The mystery of love is the source of Catholic social teaching, its most concrete expression is to be found “in the face of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word.” (48) Divine grace is the true path to become more than human by transcending our natural animal instincts and reach “fulfilment in love…as a gift from God.” (127)

Secondly, we achieve this aim by building institutions of peace. The way to holiness of lay people in the world is “teleological institutionalism”: building and maintaining the four necessary institutions (Church, family, state, and human work in economic exchange) and the network of institutions of society that support them. Leo XIV encourages politically active Catholics to build institutions of peace: “If you want peace, prepare institutions of peace. Increasingly we realize that this cannot simply involve political institutions, whether national or international, but requires all institutions – educational, economic and social.” (see footnote 2)

The pope is deeply aware of the connection between peace as an indivisible common good and institutions. He comforts those building such institutions in their labours and encourages them to have the patience and perseverance that the task requires: “[L]asting peace requires institutions and relations between people that are inspired by the dignity of every person.” (33)

Thirdly, the methodology of Catholic social thought is a flexible combination of principles of natural law and prudential judgments. Leo XIV uses the concept of “discernment” for prudential reasoning: it is central to Magnfica humanitas. In the past, he had taught that Catholic social teaching aims to teach us primarily how to approach problems and, even more importantly, how to approach people. It also helps us to make prudential judgements when confronted with challenges. Seriousness, rigour and serenity are what we must learn from every doctrine, including the Church’s social doctrine (see footnote 3).

In Magnifica humanitas, the pontiff defines Catholic social teaching as “a process of shared discernment. It is born from the encounter between the eternal truth of the Gospel and the questions of history.” (27) Thus, prudential reasoning in social questions is an important pastoral task: it is so not only of all members of the Church, but it is an invitation to all. Leo XIV invites all people of good will to “a shared discernment process for identifying the spiritual and cultural roots of ongoing transformations.” (6) Among these transformations is artificial intelligence.

Fourthly, he warns against the dangers of artificial intelligence, without rejecting it. This shows his sensitivity for the anti-humanist tendencies of transhumanism and post-humanism while, at the same time, allowing its use. He proposes Christian humanism, a humanism inspired by the Gospel, as the path forward.

For MCE, two messages of Pope Leo XIV are especially important because they have been guidelines for our own activities over the last decades. One, is the reference to the importance of the economy (157 – 164) and finance (160). He desires an economic system that values the dignity of the human person and of meaningful work. Free markets are a precious and fragile achievement that require ethics and a culture of virtuous entrepreneurship and work. Also, the pope calls on the Church to apply Catholic social teaching to her own institutions by abiding by transparency, accountability and evaluation.

In Magnifica humanitas, Leo XIV has refocused Catholic social thought through the lens of the universal call to holiness in and through the world. We eagerly anticipate how the Holy Spirit will guide the Church moving forward. We are deeply grateful to Pope Leo XIV for his encyclical.