Pope Leo XIV has reminded medical professionals that while artificial intelligence (AI) can greatly assist in healthcare, it can never replace the essential human presence of a physician.
The Pope delivered his message on Thursday to members of the Latin Ibero-American and Caribbean Medical Confederation (CONFEMEL), which represents more than two million doctors across Latin America, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Caribbean. According to Vatican News, he expressed gratitude for their commitment to caring for the sick and urged them to safeguard the human dimension of medicine.
Reflecting on today’s technological advances, Pope Leo described AI as a valuable tool in clinical care, with the potential to improve diagnosis and treatment. However, he warned against reducing medicine to algorithms and machines. “An algorithm can never replace a gesture of closeness or a word of comfort,” he said. Medicine, he stressed, must always remain rooted in dialogue, communication, and personal presence.
The Pope’s message emphasized that medical care is more than science; it is also service and compassion. To illustrate this, he drew from the Gospel story of Jesus healing the leper (Mark 1:40–42), noting that it was not a “mechanical gesture” but a healing born of human touch and relationship.
He also recalled the example of Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, the Venezuelan “doctor of the poor,” who united professional competence with personal dedication to the most vulnerable. As Vatican News highlighted, the Pope pointed to Hernández as a model of how technology and expertise must always be accompanied by mercy and closeness.
Pope Leo went further, quoting Pope Benedict XVI’s words that doctors are “reservoirs of love, bringing serenity and hope to those who suffer.” This role, he explained, can never be automated or replaced by technology. While AI can enhance efficiency, only the physician can truly provide the touch of compassion and encouragement that restores dignity to patients.
Concluding his address, the Pope urged the doctors to face the challenges of modern medicine with hope. He entrusted them to Christ, “our hope,” and to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Health of the Sick, so that, strengthened in faith, they may continue to embody both skill and humanity in their vocation.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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