The Catholic Church observed the 60th World Day of Social Communications on 17 May 2025. In his first message for this significant occasion, Pope Leo XIV focused on the need to preserve “human voices and faces.” Written on the feast of St Francis de Sales, patron of communications (24 January 2026), the message is incisive and addresses some of the major challenges confronting modern communication today.
Throughout his message, Pope Leo insists that communication must remain profoundly human. He sets the tone in the opening paragraph:
“Our faces and voices are unique, distinctive features of every person; they reveal a person’s own unrepeatable identity and are the defining elements of every encounter with others. The ancients understood this well. To define the human person, the ancient Greeks used the word ‘face’ (prósōpon), because it expresses etymologically what is before one’s gaze, the place of presence and relationship. The Latin term ‘person’ (from per-sonare), on the other hand, evokes the idea of sound: not just any sound, but the unmistakable sound of someone’s voice.”
He goes on to emphasise that faces and voices are sacred because every human being is created in the image and likeness of God. This non-negotiable truth is among the first lessons of the Catechism and forms the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching. Every person possesses a dignity that comes from God. Pope Leo asserts that human faces and voices must be preserved because they are indelible reflections of God’s love. He further adds:
“Each of us possesses an irreplaceable and inimitable vocation, that originates from our own lived experience and becomes manifest through interaction with others.”
The Pope believes that “the challenge, therefore, is not technological, but anthropological.” Safeguarding faces and voices ultimately means safeguarding ourselves. Embracing the opportunities offered by digital technology and artificial intelligence with courage, determination and discernment does not mean ignoring the critical issues, complexities and risks they present.
Pope Leo speaks candidly about Artificial Intelligence (AI), warning that it can reduce our capacity to listen, think critically and engage meaningfully with others, while also deepening social polarisation. He fears that AI threatens to diminish our cognitive, emotional and communicative abilities. It weakens our capacity to think analytically and creatively, to understand meaning and to distinguish between syntax and semantics.
The Pope also highlights the extent to which AI has come to dominate several aspects of human life. In many ways, it appears to have numbed the human sensitivity of ordinary people. He cautions:
“However, renouncing creativity and surrendering our mental capacities and imagination to machines would mean burying the talents we have been given to grow as individuals in relation to God and others. It would mean hiding our faces and silencing our voices.”
Towards the end of his message, Pope Leo acknowledges that digital innovation cannot be halted. At the same time, he stresses the urgent need to defend the human person so that these technologies may truly become allies rather than masters. He states:
“This alliance is possible, but needs to be based on three pillars: responsibility, cooperation and education.”
He then elaborates on each of these interrelated pillars, emphasising that they are essential if communication is to remain genuinely human.
This powerful message poses several serious challenges to communicators, especially Catholic communicators. Are we prepared to undertake rigorous research, critical thinking and communication with a human face? How many Catholic communicators in India have written extensively about the Special Investigative Revision (SIR), which threatens to disenfranchise millions of legitimate citizens? How many have spoken out about the plight of minorities in the country? How many have taken a stand on the injustices faced by adivasis and dalits? How many have raised concerns about developments in the Car Nicobar Islands?
AI may offer quick and convenient perspectives, but such viewpoints can also be manipulative, often serving those who seek to control lives and destinies. It is therefore essential to engage with real issues in a proactive, grassroots and critical manner in order to arrive at the truth. Sadly, many Catholic communicators in India appear trapped by new-age technologies which, as Pope Leo reminds us, can distance us from what is right and true.
In his concluding remarks, Pope Leo makes his appeal unmistakably clear:
“We need faces and voices to speak for people again. We need to cherish the gift of communication as the deepest truth of humanity, to which all technological innovation should also be oriented.”
The question remains: do Catholic communicators in India have the courage to make Pope Leo’s message a living reality in their work?
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Fr Cedric Prakash SJ is a human rights, reconciliation and peace activist, and writer
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