30 June 2026

‘We must lovingly safeguard the grandeur of humanity bestowed upon us and revealed in its fullness in Christ, the splendour of which no machine can ever replace.’ writes Pope Leo in ‘Magnifica Humanitas’. ‘True progress always stems from a heart open to others, an intelligence willing to listen and a will that seeks  what unites rather than what separates.’

Underpinning this quotation are two fundamental pieces of theology which  informs a Christian approach to developments in technology. The first is the infinite value of each individual. Everyone has been made in the image of God and therefore carries something of God within them.

We are born in the love of God which is infinite not just because God is infinite and beyond our ken but because his love for us never ends. His love is unconditional. There is nothing that we nor any machine can do to erase it or displace it or deny it. God’s daily call is simply, ‘David, I love you!’

In addition to the sacredness of human beings, valued not for their abilities nor disabilities but because they are created by and in the image of God, there is the concept of the common good. God loves us and we are called to love one another with a love inspired by Him whose gracious life and death has saved us.

‘Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone,’ writes St. Paul. ‘To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.’ (1 Corinthians 12)