John Paul II

Pope Leo XIV Encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on Artificial Intelligence and Social Justice
Morality

Pope Leo XIV Encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on Artificial Intelligence and Social Justice

06/16/2026 Bruce Strom 0

Artificial intelligence both causes and enables varying types of theft. Surprisingly, when you do a word search on the encyclical, the words PLAGIARISM and THEFT are not found at all, while the word STEAL is used once. In a few sections, there are some euphemistic phrases that hint at theft, but it does not explicitly name the sin.
Winding through the courts are many lawsuits alleging plagiarism filed against the companies who created the various chatbots. Should these companies copy text into their databases without permission, and without paying royalties? Why can’t these companies always list their sources, with the option to show the original content? […]

History

What Happened at Vatican II, Embracing Democracy and Modernity

05/04/2022 Bruce Strom 7

Pope Benedict once said that both the supporters and opponents of the Second Vatican Council have one characteristic in common, and that is, most of them have never read the decrees or the history of Vatican II and are ignorant of the actual teachings of the council. His solution was to draft the Catholic Catechism, but unfortunately, nobody reads that either. […]

AntiSemitism

Vatican II Declaration on Freedom of Religion, Embracing Democracy, Rejecting Fascism

08/18/2020 Bruce Strom 10

The Church Fathers of Vatican II believed that the Catholic guarantee of Religious Liberty was crucial for regaining the respect of many believers and the modern world.  History had evolved so that the Catholic Church was not on the side of truth regarding religious liberty.  From ancient times the Catholic Church was supported first by the Roman emperors starting with Constantine, and then the royalty of medieval Europe, but the absolute monarchies had all disappeared, giving way to dictators and republics, some of which were constitutional monarchies.  The Jacobism of the French Revolution and its grandchild communism were the enemies of the church, and the church supported fascism to combat communism.  World War II totally discredited fascism, now the Catholic Church saw democracy as the bulwark opposing communism, and religious liberty was a cornerstone for democracy. […]