Pope Leo XIV Amplifies Call for Daily Rosary for Peace, Issues Stark Warning on AI and Fake News

In a significant move addressing both spiritual and technological challenges of the modern era, Pope Leo XIV has urged Catholics worldwide to recite the Rosary daily throughout October, dedicating their prayers to the pursuit of global peace. This heartfelt appeal coincides with a growing concern within the Vatican regarding the proliferation of artificial intelligence and its potential to generate misleading content, a theme that has also shaped the Holy Father’s agenda for the upcoming World Day of Social Communications.

A Unified Call for Peace Amidst Global Tensions

The month of October, traditionally dedicated to the Holy Rosary, has been imbued with a renewed spiritual urgency by Pope Leo XIV. He has invited the faithful to engage in daily prayer, either individually, within families, or in communities, seeking the intercession of the Blessed Mother for the gift of peace in a world increasingly fractured by conflict. This initiative is part of the Jubilee of Mary and Spirituality, a period of reflection and prayer for the Church.

Adding weight to this spiritual call, the Pope will personally lead a special Rosary prayer service in St. Peter’s Square on October 11. This significant event is also timed to coincide with the anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the feast day of Saint John XXIII, a pontiff renowned for his efforts in promoting peace during times of international crisis. The Pope’s message for peace is particularly poignant given the current geopolitical landscape, which includes ongoing conflicts in regions like Gaza and Ukraine, and recent concerning statements from the U.S. Defense Department that have heightened international tensions.

Beyond the urgent call for peace, Pope Leo XIV has also included interreligious collaboration as a key prayer intention for October, expressing hope for increased unity and fraternity among different traditions. The organization Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is supporting this global prayer effort through its initiative, “One Million Children Praying the Rosary,” aiming to unite young voices in supplication for peace.

Confronting the Digital Deluge: AI, Fake News, and the Human Voice

Parallel to his fervent plea for peace through prayer, Pope Leo XIV is placing a significant emphasis on the ethical challenges posed by artificial intelligence and the pervasive threat of fake news. The theme for the 60th World Day of Social Communications in 2026 has been announced as “Preserving Human Voices and Faces”. This choice underscores the Vatican’s commitment to safeguarding authentic human communication in an age where AI is increasingly capable of generating sophisticated, yet potentially misleading, content.

The Holy Father has publicly voiced concerns about AI’s capacity to create “deepfakes”—fabricated images, videos, and audio—that can falsely depict individuals and events, thereby eroding trust and potentially sowing societal discord. He has warned that AI, while offering unprecedented possibilities, risks replicating biases, amplifying disinformation, and ultimately undermining genuine human connection and judgment. In his initial addresses, Pope Leo XIV identified artificial intelligence as a principal challenge of our time, one that affects education, healthcare, warfare, and human relationships, emphasizing that AI must remain a tool at the service of humanity, not its replacement.

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication has stressed the need for public communication to be guided by human judgment rather than mere data patterns, advocating for the integration of media and AI literacy into educational systems to equip individuals, particularly the youth, with critical thinking skills. Pope Leo XIV’s choice of papal name, inspired by Pope Leo XIII who addressed the social transformations of the industrial revolution, reflects his understanding of AI as a new revolution demanding a thoughtful, ethical response grounded in human dignity and the Church’s social teaching. The current news cycle has already seen the emergence of AI-generated fake videos and messages purporting to be from the Pope, a stark reminder of the very issues he is addressing.

A Future Guided by Faith and Discernment

Pope Leo XIV’s dual focus—a spiritual call for peace through prayer and a clear-eyed engagement with the ethical implications of burgeoning technologies—highlights the Church’s enduring mission. By encouraging the daily Rosary, he seeks to foster a spirit of peace and reconciliation amidst global turmoil. Simultaneously, his emphasis on “Preserving Human Voices and Faces” signals a commitment to guiding humanity through the complexities of the digital age, ensuring that faith and human dignity remain central to all forms of communication and technological advancement. This dual emphasis forms the core of the significant news emerging from the Vatican, underscoring a papacy keenly aware of the challenges and opportunities of the present moment.