In just his second day in the job, the new Pope Leo XIV dropped a fascinating hint as to what his priorities may be in the Vatican. It turns out he chose his name to honour the last Pope Leo XIII, who issued a famous and highly significant teaching document back in 1893. This not only laid out a new pro-worker approach from the Catholic Church at the height of the industrial revolution upending Western society, it also set the foundations of what has become Catholic Social Teaching. Now, the new Pope Leo has said the church’s social teaching may be needed for a fresh industrial revolution – one powered not by steam engines but artificial intelligence. To untangle what on earth he might mean, we are joined this week by Catholic theologian and Pope Leo XIII expert Luke Arredondo.

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Released on 9 Jul 2025