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Bioethics | Science | Technology | The Church
Making Sense of “Magnifica Humanitas”
Monday, June 1, 2026
6:00 pm EDT - 7:30 pm EDT
Catholic Information Center
1501 K Street NW
Washington,
DC
20005
United States
Description
Join the CIC on Monday, June 1 at 6:00 PM EDT for a discussion of Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical on AI, “Making Sense of Magnifica Humanitas.” Our panelists are Fr. Michael Baggot, LC, a theologian and leading voice on AI ethics, and Mark Ryland, Catholic technology strategist and Vice President of AI at Istari Digital.
Our discussion will explore the pope’s emerging vision for the Church and humanity in an age of algorithms, automation, and machine intelligence. Drawing from theology, ethics, technology, business, and Catholic social thought, Fr. Baggot and Mark Ryland will discuss how the encyclical speaks to pressing contemporary questions:
- What does it mean to defend human dignity in the era of generative AI?
- How should Catholics think about work, creativity, and economics amid rapid technological disruption?
- Can technological progress remain human-centered?
- What unique moral and spiritual contributions can the Catholic tradition offer to the global AI conversation?
- How should we understand Magnifica Humanitas within the larger historical context of Catholic Social Teaching?
Register to attend either in-person or virtually through our YouTube livestream.
June 1 Schedule:
- 5:45 pm: Doors Open
- 6:00 pm: Panel Discussion and Q&A on Magnifica Humanitas with Fr. Michael Baggot and Mark Ryland — this portion of the evening will be livestreamed
- 7:00 pm: Happy (Half) Hour
- 7:30 pm: Event Concludes
About the Speakers
Fr. Michael Baggot, LC is an Associate Professor of Bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum and an Invited Professor of Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum).
Mitch Boersma is the Executive Vice President of the Catholic Information Center and co-founder of The Leonine Forum.
