Pope Leo XIV spoke today at the Vatican with 147 bishops from the five continents, including the Portuguese D. Pedro Fernandes, bishop of Portalegre-Castelo Branco, who were appointed in the last year and are participating in a formation course promoted by various bodies of the Holy See. The audience closed the work of the course 'Bishops, servants of communion in the Church and in the world today'.
In his address, the Pope emphasized that the developments of communication technologies and artificial intelligence, although they have opened possibilities unthinkable just a few years ago, cannot free humanity from sin and its consequences. He noted that global crises tragically demonstrate this limitation of technological innovations and pointed to the encyclical 'Magnifica Humanitas' as a vision and a method to face the challenge of safeguarding the human in the era of artificial intelligence.
Leo XIV exhorted the bishops to exercise their authority as a service of love, giving priority to pastoral closeness and care for the priests of their respective dioceses. He recommended that they love the people entrusted to them, learn their names, listen to their stories, and enter their homes. He also asked for particular attention to the elderly and the sick, noting that sometimes a phone call, a visit, or a warm word is enough.
The Pope especially challenged those responsible for the young Churches to cultivate a missionary heart, stating that the missionary bishop must have a heart open to all: not only to those who attend the parishes, but also to Christians of other confessions, believers of other religions, people without faith, and all men and women of good will.
