May 29, 2026Updated May 30, 2026, 12:52 p.m. ET
Pope Leo's recent comments about the need to pump the brakes on artificial intelligence may trickle down into the workforce, law experts say.
On May 25, the Catholic Church published Pope Leo XIV's encyclicals, the highest form of teachings from a pontiff to the Catholic church's 1.4 billion members. The main theme of the nearly 43,000-word text? Artificial intelligence. And James Paul, a labor and employment litigator with the law firm Ogletree Deakins, told USA TODAY he is "bracing himself" for an influx of religious accommodation cases related to AI because of the comments.
"What is needed is a more active political involvement that is capable of slowing things down when everything is accelerating," Leo wrote about AI in the text, entitled "Magnifica Humanitas" (Magnificent Humanity).
Pope Leo's statement is one of many debates being had in religious circles about the implications of AI and how parishioners should or should not engage with the rapidly growing technology. Though some denominations have stricter stances on AI, none are monolithic in their approaches.
Paul, who's based in Florida, said he sees five to 10 religious accommodation cases a week since 2020, with about one related to AI more recently. He expects this number to "mushroom."
In short, yes, but there is nuance.
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