- 10 November, 2026
Nov 10, 2026: Pope Leo XIV has called for human dignity to remain at the centre of economic activity, urging businesses to prioritise people over profits and ensure that technological progress is guided by ethical principles.
Addressing representatives of social movements and the world of work at the Catholic University of Buenos Aires in Argentina on Monday, November 9, the Pope reflected on the Church’s Social Doctrine and its relevance to the changing world of work.
He identified the dignity of the human person as its “first and most fundamental” principle and stressed the importance of promoting the common good, which, he said, “requires us to overcome sterile individualism and corporatist utilitarianism.”
Reflecting on the universal destination of goods, Pope Leo explained that private property, while recognised and defended by the Church, carries a responsibility towards the wider community.
“Although the Church recognizes and defends the right to private property, this right is always subject to a social mortgage: the earth and its fruits have been given by God for the sustenance of all humanity,” he said.
He also highlighted solidarity as a means of shaping fairer economic structures and labour relations based on justice and reciprocity. Emphasising the social function of property and capital, he warned against allowing financial returns to become the sole measure of business success.
“When economic profit is established as the sole criterion of success, a business becomes dehumanized and turns into a structure of sin that generates exclusion,” he said.
As an example of Christian values in business, the Pope recalled the life of Venerable Enrique Shaw, a Catholic entrepreneur whose conversion led him to discover the Gospel's message through the Church’s Social Doctrine.
"The future Blessed, with his Christian understanding of the human person, 'understood that industry was not just a productive mechanism or a means of accumulating capital, but a true community of people called to grow together'," he said.
Technology must remain subject to ethics
Turning to the challenges posed by technological developments, Pope Leo called for a united Argentina built on genuine social friendship, overcoming polarisation through justice and dialogue.
He cautioned that artificial intelligence and unregulated automation could threaten employment and human development.
“The challenges posed by artificial intelligence and unregulated automation can put countless jobs at risk and become a real threat to proper integral human development.”
He insisted that “technology must always be subject to ethics,” noting that algorithms cannot replace human discernment or diminish the value of workers' physical presence and efforts.
The Pope also reminded those present that work is a way of responding to the needs of others and serving them. He encouraged everyone not to “shy away from our daily encounter with Christ in the tasks of each day, however banal and insignificant they may seem to us.”
“No work is trivial in the eyes of God: the greatness of a task lies not in what is done, but in the love invested in every gesture, every word and every thought.”
Building a civilisation of love
Concluding his address, Pope Leo invited those present to put the principles of the Church’s Social Doctrine into practice amid the profound changes taking place in the world.
He urged them to “defend the dignity of the human person, promote the common good, recognize the universal destination of goods, practice effective solidarity and responsible subsidiarity, so that together we may build the civilization of love.”
“Let us work perseveringly, placing God at the forefront of our actions and the human person at the center of our choices,” he said.
“Only in this way," he continued, "can we be sure that we are following on earth the path that God has prepared for us in heaven. Indeed, only in this way can our work bear fruit, fruit that will last.”
Source: Vatican News
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