Paris: Pope Leo XIV has called for stronger efforts to protect human dignity, truth and peace, warning that scientific and technological progress can become harmful when it is separated from ethical responsibility.
Speaking at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on Friday, the Pope said education, science and culture should remain focused on the common good and the dignity of every person. His visit took place on the first day of his Apostolic Journey to France, which runs from September 25 to 28 and includes Paris, Lourdes and Metz.
Pope Leo returned to UNESCO 46 years after St John Paul II became the first Pope to address the organisation at its Paris headquarters in 1980. He recalled his predecessor’s emphasis on the importance of culture in giving human life its meaning and highlighted the long relationship between the Holy See and UNESCO.
The Pope placed a central question at the heart of his address: what does it mean to be human? He said education should not be limited to acquiring skills or achieving material progress, but should also help people reflect on the meaning and purpose of life.
Reflecting on the dependence of every person from birth, Pope Leo said human beings enter the world needing care, affection and support. He warned that forgetting this shared human condition could lead society to treat people as commodities rather than as gifts carrying dignity and responsibility.
The Pope also focused on the growing influence of technology and artificial intelligence. He noted that while machines are increasingly described as intelligent, human beings can sometimes be judged mainly by their efficiency and productivity.
He said artificial intelligence can process and connect large amounts of information, but cannot answer questions about the meaning of human life, which comes from human experience. He also welcomed UNESCO’s work on Media and Information Literacy and stressed the need to protect children and young people from exploitation in the digital environment.
Pope Leo urged that technology should instead support education, human relationships and the ability of young people to think and make responsible judgments.
Turning to UNESCO’s founding principles, the Pope recalled the organisation’s 1945 Constitution, which states that the foundations of peace must be built in the minds of people because wars begin there. He said the principle remains relevant decades after UNESCO was established following the Second World War.
He warned that scientific progress without wisdom can be used destructively, while culture shaped by ideology can become propaganda and education separated from truth can be used to influence consciences.
Pope Leo said peace cannot depend only on agreements between countries. In his view, lasting peace requires justice and a willingness to recognise other people as equal members of the human family.
The Pope also used the biblical images of Babel and Pentecost to describe two different approaches to unity. He presented Babel as an image of unity imposed through domination, while Pentecost represents a form of unity that allows differences to remain and flourish.
He noted that modern communication allows people to connect across continents almost instantly, but greater access to information does not necessarily produce greater wisdom or truth. Without a shared ethical foundation, he said, digital communication can also spread false information and make genuine dialogue more difficult.
Pope Leo further addressed the challenges facing international organisations, which are increasingly called upon to deal with problems that individual countries cannot solve alone. At the same time, he acknowledged questions about their effectiveness.
He identified trust as essential to overcoming these difficulties, including trust that differences do not always represent a threat and that honest dialogue can produce results greater than those achieved separately.
The Pope said the Holy See wants to strengthen this trust in UNESCO and other international organisations. He concluded by linking education, science and culture with the pursuit of peace, describing every child born into the world as a sign of hope and the search for truth as an act of hope.
He said that peace can flourish when people remain committed to the value of their shared humanity.