Join our book club…
… and by book club we mean group of people interested in reading and discussing Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas: On Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence.
What IS AN ENCYCLICAL & why are we reading it?
On May 25, 2026, Pope Leo XIV released his first encyclical, which is a formal letter traditionally written to guide the Catholic Church while also addressing questions of broader public concern. Magnifica Humanitas echoes the wise and benevolent spirit of Mother Mary's Magnificat. It affirms the inherent dignity of every human person by insisting that no social, economic, or technological system can be considered morally neutral if it intentionally excludes people or treats some lives as less worthy than others.
The encyclical is 42,000 words (somewhere between 100-200 pages… exact page count is up for debate) and it seems like the least we can do is read it.
Whether you consider yourself religious or not, Pope Leo is an important advocate for human dignity and workers' rights, in a time where both are being threatened, and his perspective carries enormous weight on the world stage. The questions this encyclical raises about technology, work, responsibility, and the future of human flourishing extend far beyond the Catholic Church. They are questions that affect all of us.
Logistics:
Meeting One: Introduction, Ch. 1 - Ch. 2
week of June 22
Meeting Two: Ch. 3 - Ch. 4
week of July 5
Meeting Three: Ch. 5 - Conclusion
week of July 27
Participation is open to both in-person and virtual attendees. In-person meetings will be held in Birmingham, AL, with a Zoom option available for remote participants.
We know summer is a season of travel, family commitments, and shifting schedules, but because each conversation builds on the last, we ask that you commit to attending all three sessions if you decide to join.
We'll share discussion questions to guide our conversations, but our hope is simply to create a space where people can think together about a topic that is relevant to, and likely to affect, all of us.
If you'd like to join, please be sure to include your phone number on the registration form so we can add you to the group chat and keep everyone updated with final details.