This article forms part of Render unto Caesar a publication on taxation by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
Read more >>Taxation in Catholic Scholastic Thought
Category: Common Good
Taxation in Sacred Scripture
This article forms part of Render unto Caesar a publication on taxation by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and is published posthumously
Read more >>In defence of Europe’s Christian Heritage
A surprising silence has fallen over the persecution of Christians in some Muslim-majority countries, particularly Nigeria, where more than 50,000 Christians have been killed for their faith since 2009. In seven Muslim-majority countries, leaving Islam for Christianity (apostasy) is a capital offence, though the law is enforced only sporadically. But why should we worry? God is dead, said Nietzsche. I can think of six cogent reasons, for the faithful and non-believers alike, to respect and defend our Christian heritage, none of which suggests that Christians should force their religion on others.
Read more >>Military conflict and the destruction of the environment
As we move towards the end of the Season of Creation, I would like to ask Catholics in England and Wales to intensify their focus on the Holy Father’s theme “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4). In his message for the World Day of Prayer for Creation, Pope Leo asked us to work unremittingly for peace and to end the cycle of violence that destroys our common home. I commend his message to all of you.
Read more >>Is Polycentricity the Solution to Regulating AI?
In the discussion about Magnifica humanitas a great deal of concern is expressed about the concentration of power in a small number of companies.
Read more >>Reparation for sins against life and the need to speak truth to power
This post is the homily by Bishop Peter Collins on the memoria of St. Alphonsus Liguori at the Catholic national shrine and basilica of Our Lady, Walsingham on the occasion of the 42nd pilgrimage of reparation and prayer for the sanctity of life, August 1st 2026.
Read more >>The Brick and the Brother
When Magnifica Humanitas sets the Tower of Babel against Nehemiah’s rebuilt Jerusalem, it reads the two cities as a contrast of spirit. They are also a contrast of economies.
Read more >>Magnifica Humanitas – Disarming Artificial Intelligence
A couple of days before Magnifica Humanitas was published by Pope Leo XIV, the Australian musician and comedian Tim Minchin was interviewed on the radio about artificial intelligence (AI) at the Hay Festival. He spoke with great clarity about how the problem with AI is the lack of any proper idea of intention, and he called for people to be ‘belligerent’ in their reactions to it. At the press conference which launched the encyclical, the Holy Father stressed his call in the text to ‘disarm AI’; while much of what Minchin said chimes with the pope’s insights, the different use of military language is striking.
Read more >>Magnifica Humanitas – on the “new things” of the 21st century
‘We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fulness in Christ, the splendour of which no machine can ever replace’ (Magnifica Humanitas, 15)
Read more >>AI – constructing Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem?
The title of the encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, affirms the irreplaceable value of human beings, a theme which runs through the document. I was struck by the clarity with which Pope Leo lays out briefly the development of the social doctrine of the Church, emphasising the legitimate but distinct roles of Church and state. This gives a sound foundation for evaluating artificial intelligence (AI), and technology more broadly — how it can be used for good whilst it clearly has some built-in dangers? Pope Leo calls AI ‘A valuable tool that requires vigilance.’ AI presents unique challenges, but the criteria we need to judge how to act in response to those challenges are already to hand, in the form of Catholic social teaching.
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