Vatican News portal reports (May 28, 2026) on an interview with Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, regarding Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical, *Magnifica humanitas*, which addresses artificial intelligence and the safeguarding of the human person. Cupich presents the document as offering “a new lens to read the entire Social Doctrine of the Church,” framing it as a choice between building a “new Jerusalem” or another “Tower of Babel,” and emphasizing the need for “shared responsibility” and “God at the center” in the face of technological challenges. The Cardinal also highlights the Pope’s warning against “technological self-sufficiency” and the urgency of the digital revolution’s impact. This interview, coupled with the encyclical’s premise, reveals the post-conciliar Church’s characteristic focus on worldly concerns and its systematic omission of the supernatural, the true mission of the Church, and the absolute reign of Christ the King.
The “New Lens” of Naturalistic Humanism
The very premise of Cardinal Cupich’s commentary, echoed by the encyclical’s focus, reveals the fundamental shift in the post-conciliar Church’s priorities. To claim that *Magnifica humanitas* offers a “new lens to read the entire Social Doctrine of the Church” is to implicitly acknowledge a departure from the timeless, immutable principles that have always guided the Church’s social teaching. The true “lens” for understanding the Church’s doctrine is not a fleeting “new” perspective rooted in contemporary anxieties, but the eternal truths of the Faith, the teachings of the Fathers, and the unchanging Magisterium. As Pope Pius XI unequivocally stated in *Quas Primas*, “His reign, namely, extends not only to Catholic nations or to those who, by receiving baptism according to law, belong to the Church, even though their erroneous opinions have led them astray or discord has separated them from love, but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.” The Church’s social doctrine, properly understood, always points to the primacy of the supernatural, the salvation of souls, and the recognition of Christ’s Kingship over all aspects of human life, not merely its “safeguarding” within a technological framework.
The “New Jerusalem” Without the True God
Cardinal Cupich’s framing of the encyclical’s message as a choice between a “new Jerusalem” and a “Tower of Babel” is profoundly misleading. The “new Jerusalem” described, where “shared responsibility of all: men, women, priests, artisans, heads of households and young people all play a part” and it is “an undertaking with God at the center, which rebuilds relationships before rebuilding with stones,” is a purely naturalistic and humanistic vision. It speaks of “God at the center” in a vague, undefined sense, characteristic of modernist attempts to accommodate all beliefs. This stands in stark contrast to the Catholic understanding of the New Jerusalem, which is the *City of God*, built on the foundation of Christ, His Church, and the sacraments. Pope Leo XIII, in his encyclical *Annum sanctum*, declared, “The state is happy not by one means, and man by another; for the state is nothing else than a harmonious association of men.” True harmony, and thus a true “new Jerusalem,” can only be achieved through the recognition of Christ’s Kingship and the observance of His commandments, not through a secularized notion of “shared responsibility” that often masks a rejection of divine authority. The “Tower of Babel” is not merely “technological self-sufficiency” but any human endeavor, whether technological or social, that seeks to build a utopia without explicit submission to the one true God and His Church.
The Omission of the Supernatural and the True Mission of the Church
The gravest omission in both the Cardinal’s remarks and the encyclical’s purported focus is the complete silence on the supernatural mission of the Church. The Church was instituted by Christ for the salvation of souls, to lead humanity to eternal happiness through faith, the sacraments, and obedience to God’s laws. As Pope Pius IX declared in *Quas Primas* (referencing Leo XIII), “the Church’s authority to teach men, to issue laws, to govern nations, which authority she received from Christ the Lord to lead men to eternal happiness, was denied. And then, slowly, the Christian religion began to be equated with other false religions and shamelessly placed in the same category.” The post-conciliar Church, by focusing exclusively on worldly “social implications” and “technological self-sufficiency,” effectively reduces its mission to that of a humanitarian NGO, indistinguishable from secular organizations. There is no mention of the necessity of conversion, the state of grace, the dangers of mortal sin, the reality of hell, or the ultimate judgment. This silence is not merely an oversight; it is a deliberate act of apostasy, a denial of the Church’s divine mandate. The “wake-up call” is not about controlling technology, but about the spiritual ruin of humanity due to the abandonment of God.
The “Social Doctrine” as a Tool of Modernist Apostasy
The very concept of “Social Doctrine of the Church” as a distinct, evolving body of teaching, separate from the immutable truths of faith and morals, is a modernist construct. While the Church has always taught on social matters, these teachings were always derived from and subordinate to dogma and moral theology. The post-conciliar emphasis on “social doctrine” often serves to divert attention from doctrinal errors and moral laxity, presenting a façade of relevance while undermining the Faith. As Pope St. Pius X warned in *Lamentabili sane exitu*, the modernists aim at “such a development of dogmas as appears to be their corruption.” The “new lens” offered by *Magnifica humanitas* is precisely this: a lens that focuses on temporal concerns, often at the expense of eternal truths, characteristic of the “Church of the New Advent” which seeks to reconcile itself with the world rather than converting it. The Cardinal’s assertion that “this is Church doctrine and not simply a body of teaching that Catholics may choose to accept or ignore” is a subtle attempt to impose a modernist interpretation, demanding assent to a secularized vision that lacks the binding force of true dogma.
The Irrelevance of Usurpers and Their “Encyclicals”
It is crucial to remember that the pronouncements of “Pope” Leo XIV and his “cardinals,” including Blase Cupich, carry no weight whatsoever in the true Church. As established by Catholic theology and canon law, a manifest heretic, which all the post-conciliar antipopes have demonstrably been through their endorsement of modernist errors (e.g., religious liberty, ecumenism, the evolution of dogmas), automatically loses his office. St. Robert Bellarmine, in *De Romano Pontifice*, states: “The fifth true opinion is that a Pope who is a manifest heretic, by that very fact ceases to be Pope and head, just as he ceases to be a Christian and member of the body of the Church: by which things he may be judged and punished by the Church.” Therefore, *Magnifica humanitas*, regardless of its content, is not an encyclical of the Catholic Church, but a document emanating from the “paramasonic structure” occupying the Vatican. Its concerns, however well-intentioned they may appear, are ultimately those of a counterfeit church, not the one founded by Christ. The true Church endures in the faithful who profess the integral Catholic faith and are led by bishops with valid sacraments and validly ordained priests, awaiting the restoration of the true papacy. The “wake-up call” is not to heed the words of usurpers, but to reject their authority and return to the immutable Tradition of the Faith.
Source:
Cardinal Cupich: Pope's encyclical 'a new lens' for Church's Social Doctrine (vaticannews.va)
Date: 28.05.2026