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Humanitas Magnificas. Pope Leo: Just War Theory Is Obsolete. - Patheos

patheos.com

Pope Leo's new encyclical declares Just War Theory obsolete in the age of AI — and the reasoning reveals why centuries-old moral frameworks crack under technological acceleration.

Just War TheoryTechnological AccelerationMoral PhilosophyAI Ethics
Humanitas Magnificas. Pope Leo: Just War Theory Is Obsolete. - Patheos

Theory Briefing

  • Pope Leo's Magnifica Humanitas argues humanity is uniquely vulnerable to AI-driven warfare in ways no prior moral framework anticipated.
  • Just War Theory, built on human judgment and proportionality, struggles to apply when autonomous weapons can make kill decisions in milliseconds.
  • The encyclical signals a rare institutional break from tradition, suggesting even the Church sees AI as a civilizational-category shift, not just a new tool.