I am pleased to share that my latest peer-reviewed article has been published in Religions (MDPI):
Ramazan Özgü, “From Mirari vos (1832) to Magnifica humanitas (2026): The Development of Catholic Teaching on Communication, Technology, and Human Dignity.”
Religions 17(8), 899 (2026).
https://doi.org/10.3390/rel17080899
About the Article
How has the Catholic Church responded to successive waves of technological change—from the rise of the modern press to the emergence of artificial intelligence?
This article traces the development of Catholic teaching on communication and technology over nearly two centuries, beginning with Pope Gregory XVI’s Mirari vos (1832) and concluding with Pope Leo XIV’s Magnifica humanitas (2026).
Rather than viewing Church teaching as either consistently resistant or uniformly enthusiastic toward new technologies, the study argues that Catholic reflection has undergone a profound transformation while maintaining a continuous concern for the human person.
The analysis identifies three major historical phases:
- Defensive regulation (1832–1963): A period marked by concerns about press freedom, publication control, and the gradual development of Catholic media institutions.
- Pastoral and dialogical engagement (1963–2020): Following the Second Vatican Council, communication increasingly came to be understood as participation, dialogue, and communion rather than merely an object of regulation.
- The age of artificial intelligence (since 2020): Recent Vatican documents move beyond media ethics and address AI as a broader social, political, economic, and anthropological challenge.
Main Argument
The article argues that Catholic teaching has not simply preserved an unchanged concept of human dignity. Instead, it demonstrates an evolving anthropological concern.
Earlier documents primarily framed technological questions in terms of truth, moral order, ecclesial responsibility, and the protection of the faithful. Contemporary AI documents, by contrast, increasingly focus on human agency, relationality, embodiment, responsibility, justice, and the common good within technologically mediated societies.
Special attention is given to recent Vatican documents, including:
- Rome Call for AI Ethics (2020)
- Pope Francis’ two AI messages (2024)
- Antiqua et nova (2025)
- Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica humanitas (2026)
The article compares these texts not only theologically but also institutionally, examining their differing authority, legal status, and role within Catholic teaching.
Why This Matters
Artificial intelligence is no longer simply another communication technology. It increasingly shapes political decision-making, economic structures, labour, public discourse, education, and even our understanding of what it means to be human.
The article suggests that Catholic social teaching provides an important anthropological and ethical framework for engaging these developments while also highlighting the need to translate these principles into concrete legal, political, and institutional frameworks.
Open Access
The article is published as Open Access and is freely available to everyone:
I hope the study contributes to ongoing interdisciplinary conversations at the intersection of theology, canon law, communication studies, digital religion, and AI governance.
Ramazan Özgü 