Pope Leo XIV dwell updates: Pontiff says AI is primary problem for humanity as he units out imaginative and prescient of his papacy

The former cardinal Robert Prevost chose the name Leo as his papal name, becoming the 14th Pope to do so.

The choice has been fairly widely credited to the last Pope to hold that name, Pope Leo XIII, who headed the church from 1878 to 1903.

Leo XIII was known for his devoted focus on social justice issues, and is often credited with laying the foundation for modern Catholic social teaching.

Another Leo had one of the shortest pontificates in history. Pope Leo XI lasted from 1 April 1605 until his death on 27 April 1605.

Read more about the history of papal names here:

The Duke of Edinburgh will represent the King at the inauguration of the new Pope next weekend, Buckingham Palace has said.

Edward will travel to the Vatican to attend Pope Leo XIV’s formal installation as pope at a mass in St Peter’s Square on 18 May.

A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said: “The Duke of Edinburgh will represent His Majesty at the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV.”

Buckingham Palace previously said the King had sent a private message congratulating the Pope on his election and passing on his and the Queen’s most sincere good wishes for his pontificate.

The King had developed a strong bond with Pope Leo’s predecessor Pope Francis over the years and met him in person while in Italy not long before the Church leader’s death last month.

The Prince of Wales, a future head of the Church of England, represented his father during Pope Francis’s funeral mass in St Peter’s Square on 26 April.

Pope Leo XIV has identified artificial intelligence as one of the most critical matters facing humanity.

In his first formal audience, he identified AI as one of the main issues facing humanity, saying it poses challenges to defending human dignity, justice and labour.

Leo referred to AI in explaining the choice of his name: His namesake, Pope Leo XIII, was pope from 1878 to 1903 and laid the foundation for modern Catholic social thought.

He did so most famously with his 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed workers’ rights and capitalism at the dawn of the industrial age.

The late pope criticized both laissez-faire capitalism and state-centric socialism, giving shape to a distinctly Catholic vein of economic teaching.

In his remarks Saturday, Leo said he identified with his predecessor, who addressed the great social question of the day posed by the industrial revolution in the encyclical.

“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 defence of human dignity, justice and labour,” he said.

Toward the end of his pontificate, Francis became increasingly vocal about the threats to humanity posed by AI and called for an international treaty to regulate it.

As US Cardinal Robert Prevost realised during the secret conclave that he might be elected the next Catholic pope, he put his head in his hands at the daunting prospect of leading the 1.4-billion-member Church, a cardinal has said.

New Jersey Cardinal Joseph Tobin, one of the other 132 clerics locked inside the Sistine Chapel with Prevost for the conclave, said he looked at the future pope during one of the last ballots.

“I took a look at Bob, because his name had been floating around and he had his head in his hands,” Tobin said, using Prevost’s nickname.

“I was praying for him, because I couldn’t imagine what happens to a human being when you’re facing something like that.”

“And then when he accepted, it was like he was made for it,” said Tobin.

“Whatever anguish was resolved. I think … God had made something clear and he agreed with it.”

Pope Leo XIV has signaled he would continue with the vision and reforms of Pope Francis, telling the world’s Catholic cardinals the late pontiff left a “precious legacy” that they must continue.

In his first meeting with all the cardinals since his election as pontiff on 8 May, Leo also asked the senior clerics to renew their commitment to major Church reforms enacted by the landmark Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

Leo said Francis, who died on 21 April and broadly had a vision of opening the staid 1.4-billion-member Church to the modern world, had left an “example of complete dedication to service.”

“Let us take up this precious legacy and continue on the journey,” the new pope instructed the cardinals.

The pontiff also asked the clerics to “renew together our complete commitment” to the reforms enacted by the Council, which included celebrating the Mass in local languages rather than Latin and pursuing dialogue with other religions.

He cited Francis’ focus on “courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities.”

The White House says there is no bad blood between Donald Trump and the new pope, Leo XIV, despite the latter’s apparent criticism of JD Vance previously.

In a briefing on Friday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated a post by the president on Truth Social on Thursday, in which he hailed Leo.

“He is very proud to have an American pope,” Leavitt in response the prior social media posts. “It’s a great thing for the United States of America and for the world, and we are praying for him.”

As a cardinal, Leo – previously Cardinal Robert Prevost – posted online challenging the vice president’s interpretation of Catholic theology.

Pope Leo has been accused of failing to properly investigate allegations of child sexual abuse against priests in his churches in Chicago and Peru.

Tom Watling reports:

A photo emerged of the One Director star among the crowds wearing sunglasses, a blue jacket, and a grey baseball cap emblazoned with the message: “Techno is My Boyfriend.”

Fans are, predictably, going wild over the photo.

Our Music Editor Roisin O’Connor reports: