Pope Leo XIV

“The world needs free, rigorous and objective information. In this context, it is worth remembering Hannah Arendt’s warning that ‘the ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist.‘”

This was Pope Leo XIV on Thursday Oct 9th 2025, addressing a network of global news agencies and vigorously defending the role of journalists in an era of ‘alternative facts’ – the absurd euphemism for political fiction concocted by Kellyanne Conway, a spokesperson for Donald Trump on Jan 22nd, 2017.

“Doing the work of a journalist can never be considered a crime…. It is a right that must be protected….With your patient and rigorous work, you can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing, You can also be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth.”

Speaking of artificial intelligence, the pope warned about a new layer of challenge: “Who controls the algorithm, who directs it, and for what purposes?” As automated systems begin to shape how information is delivered, Pope Leo called for ethical human intelligence to remain central – and spoke against the monopolisation of information and publication by a few.

This repeated papal reference to computerised AI, which is currently challenging and disrupting educational institutions and the news industry globally, has led to speculation that Pope Leo may soon publish a full encyclical on the subject – boosting his profile as a major cautionary force on the industry.

For a longer report of this event in Vatican News, click here.