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Herald Malaysia
01-07-2025
- General
- Herald Malaysia
Pope Francis' ‘Teacher of Mercy', Cardinal Dri, dies aged 98
Cardinal Luis Pascual Dri, the Capuchin friar known for his tireless ministry in the confessional and his role as a spiritual model for Pope Francis, died on June 30 in Buenos Aires at the age of 98. His funeral will be held on Wednesday, July 2, at the Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii, where he had li Jul 02, 2025 File photo of Pope Francis with Cardinal Luis Pascual Dri VATICAN: ' He was a great one ,' Pope Francis once said of Dri, whom he elevated to the College of Cardinals in the 2023 Consistory. The Argentine Pope often cited him as an example of mercy, recalling how the friar would tell Jesus after long hours of confession: ' Lord, forgive me for having forgiven too much. But it was You who gave me the bad example! ' Born in Federación, Argentina, on 17 April 1927, and a Capuchin since 1945, Cardinal Dri came from a deeply religious family—eight of nine siblings entered religious life. His ministry included years as a missionary and spiritual guide, shaped by the examples of Padre Pio and Saint Leopold Mandi?. Though unable to attend the 2023 Consistory in Rome due to his health, he received the cardinal's biretta and ring in Buenos Aires. He was assigned the title of Cardinal-Deacon of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria. Speaking to Vatican media at the time, he described the appointment not as a reward but as a 'gesture of tenderness' from the Pope. Even after receiving the red hat, Cardinal Dri continued his daily rhythm of confession and prayer. ' I am as much a sinner as those who come to me, ' he often said, emphasising mercy rooted in personal humility and hours spent in prayer before the Tabernacle. Pope Francis had publicly spoken of Dri on several occasions, including in his 2014 book The Name of God is Mercy and during meetings with priests and confessors. In 2017, he gave clergy in Rome a biography of the friar titled Don't Be Afraid to Forgive , highlighting Dri's example of pastoral compassion. Reflecting on his life, Cardinal Dri once said: ' I have no degrees, no titles. But life has taught me a lot. And having been born very poor, I feel called to always offer a word of mercy, help, and closeness. No one should leave thinking they were not understood or welcomed. '--Vatican News
New York Post
18-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Pope Leo says AI threatens humanity, 'poses challenges to human dignity'
Pope Leo XIV has issued a stark warning about artificial intelligence, declaring it a threat to humanity that demands urgent global action including stringent regulations on Big Tech. 'Today, the church offers its trove of social teaching to respond to another industrial revolution and to innovations in the field of artificial intelligence that pose challenges to human dignity, justice and labor,' Leo told a roomful of cardinals in the Vatican in one of his first major addresses as pontiff. Leo's comments, which were delivered during his first formal audience with the College of Cardinals in the Synod Hall of the Vatican on May 10, were reported by the Wall Street Journal. 3 Pope Leo XIV sounded the alarm about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence during an address to cardinals at the Vatican last month. AFP via Getty Images The Vatican this week is hosting executives from firms including IBM, Cohere, Anthropic and Palantir for a major summit on AI ethics. Leo is expected to issue a written message but has not yet held private meetings with tech CEOs. Microsoft President Brad Smith is expected to meet Vatican officials later this month, and Google is in discussions for a future audience with the pope. By 2040, artificial intelligence is projected to automate or significantly transform 50% to 60% of jobs globally, with some estimates suggesting up to 80% could be impacted by 2050. McKinsey forecasts that 30% of US jobs could be automated by 2030, while Goldman Sachs estimates up to 300 million jobs worldwide — about 25% of the global labor force — may be affected. Labor-intensive roles like construction, maintenance, and skilled trades are expected to remain the most resilient. Just days into his papacy, the first American pope made clear that grappling with AI will be central to his agenda. 3 Pope Leo XIV told cardinals at the Vatican last month that artificial intelligence 'pose[s] challenges to human dignity, justice and labor.' LALAKA – In naming himself after Pope Leo XIII — the 19th-century 'Pope of the Workers' — Leo XIV signaled a direct link between the upheavals of the industrial era and today's digital revolution. The 267th pope is positioning himself as a moral counterweight to tech companies that have spent years courting the Vatican. The Church under both Francis and now Leo has advocated for legally binding global regulations to rein in unchecked AI development. 'Leo XIV wants the worlds of science and politics to immediately tackle this problem without allowing scientific progress to advance with arrogance, harming those who have to submit to its power,' Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi told the Journal. The push for AI oversight continues the work of Pope Francis, who became increasingly vocal in his later years about the dangers of emerging technologies. Francis, who once joked he barely knew how to use a computer, gradually evolved into a leading voice on the topic — warning of a 'technological dictatorship' and calling AI 'fascinating and terrifying.' 3 The Vatican this week is hosting executives from firms including IBM, Cohere, Anthropic and Palantir for a major summit on AI ethics. Getty Images In 2020, the Vatican published the 'Rome Call for AI Ethics,' backed by Microsoft and IBM, among others. It urged developers to design AI systems that respect privacy, human rights and non-discrimination. But some tech giants, including Google and OpenAI, have so far declined to endorse it. Francis' involvement grew after the infamous AI-generated image of him in a white puffer jacket went viral in 2023, demonstrating the potential for AI to distort reality. He later cautioned world leaders that 'choices by machines' must not replace human decision-making. Now, Pope Leo — who holds a mathematics degree and a deeper familiarity with tech than his predecessor — is expected to take the Church's advocacy a step further. Vatican officials and clergy see a moral imperative to act as a global conscience in the face of what they view as a potentially dehumanizing force. 'These tools shouldn't be demonized, but they need to be regulated,' said Cardinal Versaldi. 'The question is, who will regulate them? It's not credible for them to be regulated by their makers. There needs to be a superior authority.'
Mint
18-06-2025
- Business
- Mint
Pope Leo takes on AI
VATICAN CITY—Two days into his reign, the new American pope spoke softly to a hall full of red-capped cardinals and invoked the digital-age challenge to human dignity he intended to address with the power of his 2,000-year-old office: artificial intelligence. The princes of the Catholic Church listened intently as Pope Leo XIV laid out his priorities for the first time, revealing that he had chosen his papal name because of the tech revolution. As he explained, his namesake Leo XIII stood up for the rights of factory workers during the Gilded Age, when industrial robber barons presided over rapid change and extreme inequality. 'Today, the church offers its trove of social teaching to respond to another industrial revolution and to innovations in the field of artificial intelligence that pose challenges to human dignity, justice and labor," Leo XIV told the College of Cardinals, who stood and cheered for their new pontiff and his unlikely cause. Over the past decade, many of Silicon Valley's most powerful executives have flown to Rome to shape how the world's largest Christian denomination thinks and speaks about their innovations. The leaders of Google, Microsoft, Cisco and other tech powerhouses have debated the philosophical and societal implications of increasingly intelligent machines with the Vatican, hoping to share the benefits of emerging technologies, win over the moral authority and potentially steer its influence over governments and policymakers. While the dialogue has been friendly, the two sides have views that only partly overlap. The Vatican has been pushing for a binding international treaty on AI, which some tech CEOs want to avoid. A number of companies support voluntary ethical guidelines, preferring them to legally binding regulation of AI, which the European Union is gradually rolling out. The Trump administration has rescinded Biden-era AI regulations and has attacked Europe for trying to impose binding rules. Some tech executives reject even broad guidelines. Pope Francis said early in his reign that he barely knew how to use a computer. Yet the more familiar he became with AI, the more concerned he grew. He became a leading global voice on the potential dangers it could pose to humanity, increasingly meeting tech executives to discuss the matter. 'Leo XIV wants the worlds of science and politics to immediately tackle this problem without allowing scientific progress to advance with arrogance, harming those who have to submit to its power," said Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, who has known Leo well for many years. This week, the Vatican is hosting executives from Google, Meta, IBM, Anthropic, Cohere and Palantir in its grand Apostolic Palace, as part of a two-day international conference in Rome on AI, ethics and corporate governance co-chaired by David Berger, a partner at law firm Wilson Sonsini that advises some of the largest tech companies, and Pierluigi Matera, a partner at Libra Legal Partners, who works with the Vatican. The pope is expected to deliver a written message to the conference participants, but has yet to have meetings with tech CEOs so early in his papacy. Microsoft President Brad Smith is slated to meet with Vatican officials in Rome this month and Google has been in touch with the Vatican about a potential meeting with Leo, people familiar with the matter said. The encounters could give the companies powering the rise of AI a glimpse of whether Leo will offer friendly counsel or a firm challenge. To understand the roughly decadelong dialogue between the Catholic Church and Silicon Valley's leading lights, the Journal spoke to nearly 30 tech executives, clergymen and the historians and futurists they have consulted. These people described their detailed conversations, often held in secret, over the future of AI. The American pope's invocation of the 1890s is the latest chapter in the Catholic Church's ambivalent relationship with capitalism. Whereas President Trump sees the Gilded Age as a golden era to which the U.S. should return, Pope Leo views it as a warning from history. Leo XIII, who reigned in the late 19th century, was the first pope to systematically confront the social impact of the industrial revolution. Nicknamed 'the Pope of the Workers," Leo pressed governments to pass laws to protect laborers from the ruthless capitalists of the era. Leo XIII's views were profoundly influenced by an American prelate, Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore, who told him about the plight of factory workers in the U.S., many of them Catholic immigrants from European countries such as Italy and Ireland. If the Church didn't help labor, Gibbons warned the pope, then godless Communists would fill the void. In a groundbreaking 1891 encyclical called Rerum Novarum—Latin for 'Of New Things"—Leo XIII backed calls for labor unions, living wages and safer working conditions. But he also affirmed the right to private enterprise and property. 'The hiring of labor and the conduct of trade are concentrated in the hands of comparatively few; so that a small number of very rich men have been able to lay upon the teeming masses of the laboring poor a yoke little better than that of slavery itself," Leo XIII wrote. Rerum Novarum laid the foundation for modern Catholic social teaching, inspiring Catholic labor movements. It also influenced a powerful brand of moderate conservative politics in Europe after World War II, which believed in capitalism but with strong guardrails. In recent times, the Catholic Church has become increasingly vocal about inequality and the need for a more inclusive economy. Tech ethics weren't immediately a central concern for Francis—who worried, at times, that the global poor lagged behind in their access to social media. He embraced Twitter, and became known within the Vatican as the 'Snapchat Pope" for the selfies he took with visitors and Catholic faithful. In 2016, the Vatican hosted some of Silicon Valley's biggest names, including Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Tim Cook of Apple and Google's Eric Schmidt to discuss how technology could be used for good. Francis mentioned to Schmidt that he could use some help with a new Vatican YouTube channel aimed at youth, according to people familiar with the meeting. Schmidt sent a cadre of Googlers to the Vatican for several weeks to assist, but they became frustrated by the slow pace of Vatican bureaucracy, and the channel never materialized. Bishop Paul Tighe, from Ireland, helped organize a series of closed-door conversations between Vatican hierarchy and tech leaders known as the Minerva Dialogues, after a Dominican church in Rome. At first, the conversation was mainly about the promise of growing digitization, but as time went by, the participants began to discuss their concerns about the rising political polarization that came with it, according to people familiar with the meetings. During these years, Francis also began expressing concern over the massacres of the Rohingya people in Myanmar, which had in part been fueled by viral Facebook posts. Over time, tech leaders talked increasingly about coming breakthroughs in AI. 'People were saying to us, 'Look, this is going to raise questions about the future of humanity…and we're interested in talking to all the traditional sources of wisdom,'" said Tighe. In early 2019, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, then head of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Life, said Microsoft reached out about a meeting with the company's president, Brad Smith, to discuss the ethical implications of artificial intelligence. Paglia was intrigued but also wary of Microsoft's intentions. 'In my office people were telling me: This guy wants the Vatican's stamp of approval. Maybe it's about sales," said Paglia. But he agreed to meet Smith, and they hit it off. 'It was almost love at first sight. There was a mutual understanding of the vital importance of this issue," said Paglia. Soon after, the archbishop met the pope with Smith. There was no time for a full briefing. 'Tell me, who is this guy?" Francis asked Paglia as he prepared to greet Smith. To pique the pontiff's interest, the archbishop said Smith was a lawyer who helped immigrants in the U.S. (Smith co-founded a nonprofit that gives migrant children legal assistance.) 'OK, let's go then," Francis replied. 'I couldn't just say, 'He is the president of Microsoft.' I needed to make an emotional impact," explained Paglia. Microsoft had a yearslong relationship with Vatican officials but not at this level. Smith told Francis at length about his vision for AI. 'We see this technology as in service of humanity, not as a successor to it," Smith said in an interview. Paglia and Smith laid the groundwork for guidelines known as the Rome Call for AI Ethics, published in 2020, which corporate signatories including IBM and Cisco pledged to follow. The 12-page pledge committed AI-makers to not violate the privacy or human rights of users or to further discrimination, and proposed that 'those who design and deploy the use of AI must proceed with responsibility." Some AI pioneers, including Google and OpenAI, so far haven't signed up. Paglia hopes to get them on board. The Vatican recognized the potential of AI to do good in areas such as healthcare, education and spreading the faith. There were clearly ethical quandaries to consider. The hope was that clergy and tech leaders could team up to set out principles. In subsequent years, meeting the pope became a rite of passage for rising tech CEOs, including Anthropic's Dario Amodei, Cohere's Aidan Gomez and Markus Pflitsch of Terra Quantum, who called his meeting with Francis the 'Holy Grail." 'There was a more positive sentiment or more or less consensus that we will be able to organize and use classical AI for the good…but we need to put the right governance structures in place," said Pflitsch. Often, the visitors debated with the pope about the nature of technology and the divine, said Father Eric Salobir, a Dominican priest who attended some of the meetings. In one meeting, Francis compared AI's dependency on web content produced in a few languages—largely English—to the story of the Tower of Babel, in which overconfident humans, speaking a single tongue, attempted to build a tower to heaven, prompting God to scatter them and sabotage their creation. During another meeting, the pope warned tech leaders against believing that they understood humans just because their data could predict human behavior: 'You miss their humanity because you cannot reduce the human being to its data," Father Salobir recalled. In 2023, an AI-generated image of Pope Francis wearing a stylish white puffer jacket became one of the first deepfakes to go viral. Many people around the world fell for it. Later that year, Francis warned of a 'technological dictatorship" and called on governments to develop a legally binding international treaty to regulate AI. Addressing the 2024 summit of G-7 leaders, he called AI 'fascinating and terrifying." He said humanity faced a future without hope if 'choices by machines" replaced people's decisions about their lives. In January this year, the Vatican warned in a document on AI that even if the technology had constructive uses, a handful of tech companies could gain wealth and power at the expense of the many. Militaries might race to develop autonomous weapons, lacking in human judgment or morality. Children risked growing up in a dehumanized world, with chatbots as their guides. After Francis died in April, AI was a big topic of discussion among cardinals arriving in Rome to elect his successor. Several European prelates warned that AI was crowding out the space for God in modern life. Some of their colleagues from Africa expressed misgivings about the tech industry's bottomless appetite for minerals buried beneath their soil. They're now waiting to see how Leo will use the church's moral authority to push for strong rules on AI. 'These tools shouldn't be demonized, but they need to be regulated," said Cardinal Versaldi. 'The question is, who will regulate them? It's not credible for them to be regulated by their makers. There needs to be a superior authority." Write to Margherita Stancati at Drew Hinshaw at Keach Hagey at and Emily Glazer at
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pope Leo XIV Formalizes Role as Bishop of Rome
Pope Leo XIV has completed the final ceremonial steps to formalizing his role as the bishop of Rome. The pontiff formally took possession of the St. John Lateran Basilica, Rome's cathedral and the seat of the diocese, on Sunday where he later conducted an evening Mass. On his way to the Basilica, Pope Leo XIV met up with the mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, where he discussed his pride in formalizing his title. 'We are happy that Rome is now your city,' Gualtieri told the pontiff, according to Vatican News. 'Today I can say in a special way that I am a Roman, with and for you,' the pope replied. The bishop of Rome is one of the many titles that Pope Leo XIV was bestowed when he was elected by the College of Cardinals earlier this month. However, due to the volume of responsibility that comes with leading the Catholic Church, the day-to-day administrative tasks of running the diocese of Rome are typically bestowed to a vicar, or assistant bishop. The pontiff was born Robert Prevost in Chicago in 1955. He has held dual U.S. and Peruvian citizenship for the past decade, having served as a missionary and bishop across the two countries. He notably is the first U.S.-born leader of the Catholic Church. Following his election on May 8, the pontiff's personal politics were put under national spotlight. His digital footprint revealed at the time that he was in disagreement with the Trump administration on notable policies like immigration. Pope Leo XIV is also said to have been 'respected' by the late Pope Francis who 'thought of him very highly,' according to CNN Vatican correspondent Christoper Lamp. 'Clearly Pope Francis saw in him something,' Lamb said in a report published earlier this month. Francis had appointed Leo as a cardinal in 2023 and assigned him the title Diaconate of Saint Monica. 'He saw him as a capable leader.'
Gulf Today
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Gulf Today
President and RAK Ruler discuss citizens' welfare
UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday received His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, at Al Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Saud was accompanied by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah. During the meeting, Sheikh Mohamed and Sheikh Saud exchanged friendly, fraternal conversations and discussed a number of issues related to the affairs of the UAE and Emiratis and the ongoing efforts to enhance the UAE's comprehensive development vision and achieve the aspirations of its people. Sheikh Saud said via his Instagram account, 'I was pleased to meet my brother, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, accompanied by Mohammed Bin Saud and in the presence of Their Highnesses, the Sheikhs, at Al Shati Palace in Abu Dhabi. 'We shared a warm and brotherly conversation and discussed various affairs of the nation and its people. 'We also committed to continuing the work to enhance our country's vision for comprehensive and sustainable development and to fulfill the aspirations of our people. We pray to God to grant our nation enduring progress and prosperity.' Recently, on behalf of Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr attended the inauguration ceremony of Pope Leo XIV as head of the Catholic Church, succeeding the late Pope Francis. The ceremony took place in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, in the Italian capital Rome, in the presence of several heads of state, leaders and world dignitaries. Sheikh Saud conveyed to Pope Leo XIV the congratulations of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the confidence entrusted to him by the College of Cardinals in the Vatican, wishing His Holiness success in advancing the values of peace and coexistence, and in supporting intercultural and humanitarian dialogue, as well as closer ties among peoples and religions. Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr affirmed that the UAE is committed to promoting its humanitarian mission and working with Pope Leo XIV to consolidate the values of peace, coexistence and tolerance globally, while supporting joint efforts aimed at finding solutions to humanitarian and social challenges that benefit all of humanity. He also highlighted the importance of upholding the principles of tolerance, peace and dialogue among religions around the world, through the Document on Human Fraternity signed in Abu Dhabi in 2019 by the His Eminence Professor Dr Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and the late Pope Francis. The document marked a historic milestone and a shining example of interfaith rapprochement and human fraternity. A couple of days ago, Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr received two high-level delegations from Guangdong Province, China, the first led by Bai Tao, Mayor of Foshan City, and the second led by Chen Jie, the Vice Mayor of Guangzhou. During the meeting with Foshan government officials, Sheikh Saud witnessed the signing of a hydrogen cooperation agreement between Ras Al Khaimah Transport Authority (RAKTA) and Foshan Institute of Environment and Energy Technology (FIEET), which follows on from the agreement Ras Al Khaimah signed with Guangdong Province during Sheikh Saud's visit to China last November. The Strategic Cooperation Agreement, which was signed by Esmaeel Hasan Alblooshi, RAKTA Director-General, and Professor Wang Ziyuan, President of FIEET, aims to deepen technological, industrial and application-chain innovation cooperation in the hydrogen energy sector for the mutual benefit of both parties, leveraging their respective resources and strengths while aligning with their strategic development objectives. Sheikh Saud said, 'This agreement between Ras Al Khaimah Transport Authority and Foshan Institute of Environment and Energy Technology is a significant step forward in our efforts to explore sustainable and innovative energy solutions. In Ras Al Khaimah, we are committed to expanding partnerships in the fields of technology, industry and sustainable development with our partners in Guangdong Province, based on our vision to harness advanced technology and embrace opportunities for greater international cooperation, as this contributes to achieving the comprehensive and sustainable development that we seek for our beloved emirate.' WAM
