Pope Leo XIV is reminding Catholics that scientific and technological advancement cannot be measured simply by what humanity is capable of achieving. True progress, he said, must respect human dignity and improve life for everyone, particularly those most in need.
During his Wednesday General Audience, Pope Leo continued his catechetical reflections on the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, turning to the document’s teaching on human work, scientific development and humanity’s role within creation.
According to Vatican News, the Pope addressed a fundamental question raised by the Council: What value should Christians place on human activity and the technical, social and scientific advances it produces?
“The human being is the agent of progress,” Pope Leo said, emphasizing the role of human freedom and intelligence in developing society.
But the Pope also challenged the idea that greater human knowledge or achievement requires humanity to distance itself from God.
“In post-Christian humanist thought,” Pope Leo explained, “human beings and God are erroneously presented as rivals: in order to assert his knowledge, his freedom, and his progress, man is thought to have to emancipate himself from God.”
According to Vatican News, Pope Leo warned that denying humanity’s relationship with God ultimately means losing “the possibility of affirming the transcendent value of the human person.”
Rather than standing in opposition to human development, the Christian understanding of creation sees men and women as active participants in God’s plan.
Citing Gaudium et spes, Pope Leo recalled that Christians “can justly consider that by their labour they are unfolding the Creator’s work, consulting the advantages of their brother men, and contributing by their personal industry to the realization in history of the divine plan.”
The Pope explained that creation itself remains on a journey toward fulfillment and that human beings have been entrusted with a meaningful role within that process.
“God has placed in the hands of men and women a creation that is still in statu viae—that is, on a journey, in the process of growth—so that they may bring it to fulfilment through their wise activity,” he said.
This understanding also has consequences for ordinary Catholic life. Encountering God does not require Christians to abandon their earthly responsibilities or everyday work.
“To encounter God, the human being must not abandon his earthly vocations, but can live his vocation fully carrying out his daily work and sanctifying it,” Pope Leo said.
According to Vatican News, the Pope distinguished humanity’s work to build up society from the development of the Kingdom of God, while noting the Council’s teaching that progress within human society “is of vital concern to the kingdom of God.”
That connection, however, does not mean every technological or scientific development automatically constitutes genuine progress.
Pope Leo said authentic advancement must be guided by love and directed toward the good of the human person.
“In order to be authentic human progress… technical and scientific progress must be inspired by charity,” he said. “Only in this way can it always be placed in the service of human dignity and promote the living conditions of all, especially the most disadvantaged.”
The Pope concluded by pointing toward a vision of progress in which knowledge and human achievement are shared rather than reserved for the benefit of only some.
The Second Vatican Council, he said, “invites us to share the bread of knowledge and know-how, so that every person and every people may develop their potential, and together, with God’s help, we may build a better future.”
Your support brings the truth to the world.
Catholic Online News exists because of donors like you. We are 100% funded by people who believe the world deserves real, uncensored news rooted in faith and truth — not corporate agendas. Your gift ensures millions can continue to access the news they can trust — stories that defend life, faith, family, and freedom.
When truth is silenced, your support speaks louder.
