Melville House will publish Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on artificial intelligence as a book, the press announced in a news release.
The indie publisher will release the pontiff’s Magnifica Humanitas: Encyclical on Safeguarding the Human Person in the Time of Artificial Intelligence later this year.
Magnifica Humanitas is the first encyclical—a letter that addresses a matter of Catholic doctrine—from Leo, who became the pope in May 2025. In the document, Leo writes, “Humanity, created by God in all its grandeur, is today facing a pivotal choice: either to construct a new Tower of Babel or to build the city in which God and humanity dwell together.” He writes that AI must be used to serve humanity and not to take dignity away from people.
Dennis Johnson, the publisher of Melville House, said in a statement, “Thinking about AI is like thinking about the current political situation—you want to switch off the glut of media stories because it’s all too drastic and depressing. And yet it’s not going to go away, and the danger is real. Pope Leo has given us a way to think about how we can comprehend both the mortal danger of AI, and the way humanity can not only coexist with it, but benefit from it. It’s a very stirring and inspiring book.”
Melville House’s edition of Magnifica Humanitas is slated for publication on Aug. 18.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
