Bishop Strickland: Pope Leo XIV’s new encyclical centers on a theology of man, not God

(Pillars of Faith) — Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

As a successor of the apostles, I have a solemn duty not only to preach the Gospel, but also to help the faithful discern the spirits of the age in the light of the unchanging truth entrusted to the Church by Our Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Paul exhorted Timothy to “preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2). That duty belongs to every bishop charged with guarding the deposit of faith.

Therefore, I feel it is important to address concerns regarding the recently released encyclical letter, Magnifica Humanitas, of the Holy Father Leo XIV. Some have found parts of it insightful and compelling. Others have experienced a deep uneasiness while reading it – a concern that, beneath many true statements, the document reflects a broader theological shift that risks placing man at the center in a way that obscures the primacy of God.

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Because these questions touch the heart of the Catholic faith itself, I believe it is necessary to offer a careful doctrinal reflection. This is not done in a spirit of hostility or rebellion, nor with any desire to sow confusion or division within the Church. Rather, true charity requires clarity. The faithful deserve shepherds who are willing to speak honestly when theological emphases or frameworks appear capable of leading souls into confusion.

The Church has always taught that every age must be judged in the light of Christ – not Christ reinterpreted through the lens of modern ideologies, but Christ as handed down through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the perennial Magisterium of the Church. Technology, artificial intelligence, and changing social realities certainly require thoughtful moral reflection. Yet no age, no crisis, and no technological revolution can alter the fundamental truths of the Catholic faith: that man is fallen through sin, redeemed only through Jesus Christ, called to repentance and sanctification, and destined not merely for earthly flourishing, but for eternal union with God.

It is with that concern for the salvation of souls and fidelity to the Catholic faith that I offer the following reflection.

The recently released encyclical letter on artificial intelligence, transhumanism, human dignity, economics, war, and the future of humanity presents itself as a major reflection on the moral and social implications of the technological age. It contains many statements that are recognizably Catholic and even admirable: it rejects transhumanism, warns against technocracy, condemns exploitation and trafficking, defends the dignity of the human person, affirms the Incarnation, speaks of grace, references the Eucharist, and insists that man must never be reduced to a machine or to data.

Yet despite these positive elements, many faithful Catholics will experience a profound uneasiness while reading it. That uneasiness does not arise merely from isolated passages, but from the overall orientation, emphasis, and theological center of gravity of the document itself.

The deepest concern is not that the document says false things about humanity, but that it reorders the hierarchy of truths by placing humanity, human flourishing, human dignity, and human relationships at the center in a way that risks overshadowing the primacy of God, sin, redemption, worship, and salvation.

Catholic theology begins with God. It begins with the glory of God, the sovereignty of God, the holiness of God, the reality of sin, the necessity of redemption, the Cross of Christ, eternal judgment, and the salvation of souls. Human dignity is affirmed precisely because man is created by God, redeemed by Christ, and ordered toward eternal communion with Him. The dignity of man flows from God and remains subordinate to God.

In this document, however, the emphasis often appears reversed. Repeatedly, the language centers on human flourishing, human vulnerability, human solidarity, human fraternity, human communion, human relationships, human participation, and the preservation of humanity itself.

Certainly, Catholic doctrine teaches about these things. Yet the repeated emphasis creates the impression that the primary crisis of the modern world is “dehumanization,” rather than sin against God. Evil is often described in terms of fragmentation, domination, exclusion, technological reductionism, or broken relationships, rather than rebellion against divine law and the need for repentance and conversion.

READ: Leo XIV’s new encyclical makes Christ equivalent to mere human beings

The treatment of Christ especially reveals this. Traditionally, Christ is proclaimed, as He should be, as the eternal Son of God, the Redeemer, the Savior from sin, the sacrificial Lamb, the King, the Judge of the living and the dead.

While this document does certainly reference Christ, the Incarnation, grace, and the Eucharist, Christ is frequently presented primarily as: the revelation of authentic humanity, the model of communion, the one who reveals human dignity, the fulfillment of human relationality. Although it is true that Christ reveals man to himself, this truth is always subordinated to the greater reality of redemption from sin and reconciliation with God. Christ does not merely reveal authentic humanity; He saves fallen humanity through His Passion, Death, and Resurrection.

In this document, however, there are moments when Christ appears almost more important as the fulfillment of humanity than as the Savior from sin. This creates the impression of an anthropocentric theology – one in which the human person becomes the interpretive center. The relative absence of explicit treatment of sin intensifies this concern.

This document speaks extensively about: systems of power, technocracy, war, economic injustice, manipulation, algorithmic control, social fragmentation, and dehumanization. But comparatively little is said about original sin, concupiscence, personal repentance, moral culpability, judgment, hell, penance, or the eternal destiny of the soul.

As a result, the roots of evil begin to appear primarily structural rather than spiritual. Catholic doctrine teaches that the disorder in society ultimately flows from the disorder within the human heart wounded by original sin. Technology itself is not the deepest crisis; man separated from God is the crisis.

This concern becomes especially evident in the document’s repeated appeal to building a “civilization of love.” The phrase itself is authentically Catholic and was used by popes such as Paul VI and John Paul II. Yet traditionally this vision was explicitly rooted in: conversion, evangelization, the social reign of Christ the King, obedience to divine law, and supernatural grace.

In this newer presentation, the “civilization of love” can at times sound less like the fruit of conversion to Christ and more like a global humanitarian project centered on fraternity, solidarity, inclusion, and peace. Again, none of these goals are wrong. The concern is that the supernatural dimension of salvation appears less central than the construction of a human social order.

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This is why many faithful Catholics will experience the document as deeply unsettling. The fear is not simply that doctrine is denied outright, but that the entire framework is subtly shifting: from God-centeredness to man-centeredness, from salvation to human flourishing, from sin to systems, from redemption to relationality, from worship to humanitarianism.

The Church has repeatedly warned against forms of religious humanism that preserve Christian language while gradually relocating the center of Christianity from God to man. When human dignity becomes detached from the sovereignty of God, when social transformation overshadows salvation, and when the language of communion replaces the language of repentance and sanctification, Christianity risks becoming reduced to an ethical or humanitarian vision.

I do acknowledge that this document is not devoid of authentic Catholic elements. Its rejection of transhumanism is strong and important. Its insistence that man must never be reduced to a machine or an algorithm is valuable. Its defense of embodiment, suffering, limits, and human dignity stands firmly against many dangerous currents in modern culture. Also, its warnings about AI warfare, exploitation, digital manipulation, and technological domination are serious and often insightful.

However, the issue is more subtle and, therefore, in some ways, more concerning. The problem lies in emphasis, theological orientation, and anthropological focus.

Catholic theology is clear that man is only fully understood in relation to God, and human dignity only finds its true meaning within the order of creation, redemption, grace, and eternal salvation. Without that hierarchy firmly preserved, even noble language about dignity, peace, fraternity, and humanity drift into a form of Christianized humanism in which man becomes the practical center.

That is why faithful Catholics reading this document may experience not merely disagreement, but deep spiritual alarm. The concern is not only what is said, but what seems to have become central – and whether the supernatural order of Catholic theology is gradually being eclipsed by an anthropology centered primarily on humanity itself.

At the heart of this discussion lies a question far greater than artificial intelligence, technology, economics, or even global politics. The real question is this: Who is at the center?

For two thousand years, the Catholic Church has proclaimed that Jesus Christ is not merely the revelation of authentic humanity, nor simply a model of communion and solidarity. He is the eternal Son of God, crucified and risen for the salvation of sinners. The Church exists first and foremost to glorify God, proclaim the Gospel, save souls, and lead humanity to eternal life.

Certainly, the Church must defend human dignity, resist technological dehumanization, oppose exploitation, and confront injustice. Yet all of these concerns must remain rooted in the supernatural order. Human dignity cannot become detached from the truth that man is a creature who belongs to God and is called to conversion, holiness, and worship. When humanity itself becomes the primary interpretive lens through which theology is understood, even beautiful language about fraternity, peace, communion, and dignity can gradually drift into a form of religious humanism that no longer places God first.

This is why discernment is urgently needed in our time.

We are living in an age deeply tempted by anthropocentrism – an age that increasingly speaks of humanity while forgetting God, speaks of solidarity while neglecting repentance, and seeks salvation through systems, technology, psychology, or political structures rather than through the Cross of Jesus Christ.

The answer to the modern crisis will not be found in transhumanism, technocracy, artificial intelligence, or a purely humanitarian vision of the world. Nor will it be found in despair or fear. The answer remains what it has always been: Jesus Christ, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Only Christ reveals both the greatness and the misery of man. Only Christ heals what sin has wounded. Only Christ restores divine order. Only Christ can bring true peace because only Christ reconciles man to God.

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As Catholics, we must therefore remain firmly rooted in the perennial faith of the Church – in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Eucharistic devotion, prayer, penance, fidelity to truth, and the pursuit of holiness. We must resist every attempt to reduce Christianity to a merely earthly project, even when clothed in compassionate or spiritual language.

The world does not need a new religion centered on humanity. The world needs the Gospel.

May Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom and Destroyer of Heresies, intercede for the Church in this time of confusion. May she help us remain faithful to her Divine Son, so that in every age and every trial we may proclaim with clarity and courage: “Jesus Christ, yesterday, and today; and the same forever” (Hebrews 13:8).

Bishop Joseph Strickland
Bishop Emeritus

Reprinted with permission from Pillars of Faith.