Pope Leo explains name: AI, worker rights

Pope Leo XIV said Saturday that he selected his papal name in part to commemorate Pope Leo XIII for his commitment to social issues and workers’ rights during the industrial revolution.

Leo said that the world now faces new hurdles to workers’ rights — and humanity more broadly — due to the rise of artificial intelligence.

“In our own day, the church offers everyone the treasury of its social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor,” said the American pontiff, who before his election by a Vatican conclave on Thursday was known as Cardinal Robert Prevost.

Leo’s remarks provided one of the earliest indications of his vision for leadership and priorities as head of the Roman Catholic Church.

Leo also suggested during his first meeting with cardinals since his election that he would follow the late Pope Francis’ lead on his commitment to social justice.

“It has been clearly seen in the example of so many of my predecessors, and most recently by Pope Francis himself, with his example of complete dedication to service and to sober simplicity of life, his abandonment to God throughout his ministry and his serene trust at the moment of his return to the Father’s house,” he said.

Francis, who was pope for 12 years, often garnered criticism from conservative cardinals who said he was watering down the Church’s doctrine on issues like LGBT Catholics and women’s leadership.

Leo XIII, the partial inspiration for the new pope’s name, was elected in 1878. He was a prominent figure in the Catholic Church’s social teaching, particularly surrounding the rights of workers and the working class.

Leo is the first American pontiff of the Catholic Church.

Reuters contributed to this report.