311: AI, Pope Leo, & The Antichrist
Leo the XIV wrote a big letter about a hyperobject. Many thoughts and debates are triggered. Today we’ll look at what the hell an encyclical is, the Vatican's decade-long conversation with Silicon Valley about coding morally-sound AI, and the broken and laundered echoes of Liberation Theology in Leo’s text.
Show Notes
Rerum Novarum, Leo XIII, May 15 1891
Catholic Church largest non-governmental landowner
Paragraph 177: memory of past complicity in slavery
Thiel’s Antichrist Framing Collides with Church Doctrine
Why Silicon Valley is Turning to The Catholic Church
Gustavo Gutiérrez, A Theology of Liberation (1971/1973)
Medellín Conference 1968, CELAM documents
Camilo Torres Restrepo, ELN Colombia
Ratzinger CDF investigation of Gutiérrez, 1984
James Martin SJ, "A capitalist priest reads Magnifica Humanitas," America Magazine
Word on Fire publishing Magnifica Humanitas in hardcopy
Brief: US v. Liberation Theology (Part 1) — November 1, 2025
Bonus: US v. Liberation Theology (Part 2) — November 3, 2025
