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Hello, I'm Peter Jessura Smith, National News Editor for OSV News, and you're listening to our OSV Newscast for Wednesday, May 27th, 2026. Let's catch you up on the Catholic News of the Day, and here we go. Vice President J.D. Vance said in a new interview with NBC News that while he has not yet fully read Pope Leo XIV's first encyclical, which addresses human dignity concerns posed by artificial intelligence, what he has read of Magnifica Humanitas sounds very profound. Vance, the second Catholic to hold the office of Vice President and a proponent of AI technology, said in the interview he has read bits and pieces of the encyclical and some coverage of the document. What I read of it sounds very profound, and the sort of thing that you would expect and hope from a leader of the church. He continued, the thing about morality is that the principles never change, but the way you apply those principles does, because the world changes. In the document, Poplio also addressed the just war theory, arguing the theory has become increasingly insufficient in modern conditions, including the rise of AI, and is now outdated. Poplio called for the most rigorous ethical constraints on the use of AI in warfare, proposing new concrete criteria for discernment and non-negotiable requirements. Vance previously sparked controversy in April by invoking just war theory in reference to the Trump administration's conflict in Iran after President Donald Trump criticized Poplio's opposition to that war. However, Vance appeared to praise Poplio's comments in the encyclical. He added that he was glad Poplio was trying to rethink the entire Catholic social teaching in light of the new world that we live in. Poplio XIV has renewed his call for humanitarian aid and human rights protections in Gaza. Speaking to reporters outside his residence in Castel Gandalfo, Italy, on May 26th, the Pope urged the international community to remember what he called the ongoing suffering of civilians caught in the conflict. Responding to a question about activists recently detained by the Israeli military after joining a Gaza-bound flotilla, Poplio said human rights must be respected for everyone. The flotilla, organized to challenge Israel's long-standing naval blockade of Gaza, was carrying activists and a symbolic amount of humanitarian aid when vessels were intercepted May 19th, according to the Associated Press. International condemnation erupted after Israel's National Security Minister, Itmar Ban Gavir, posted a video of himself mocking the activists, who were bound with their hands tied behind their backs and kneeling bent over face down on the ground. According to the United Nations, nearly all of Gaza's 2.1 million people have been displaced, and many lack adequate shelter, food, and medical care. Poplio also addressed to reporters the growing role of artificial intelligence in modern warfare, warning about increasingly lethal weapons systems. His comments echoed themes from his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, that was released a day earlier. He confirmed ongoing collaboration between the Vatican and the AI company, Anthropic. Reflecting on the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Leo defended church reform as a legitimate process that adapts to current needs while remaining rooted in authentic tradition. During his May 27th general audience in St. Peter's Square, the Pope said authentic renewal of the liturgy is acceptable and encouraged when the church first engages in careful theological and pastoral study, and then makes sure that any new forms adopted should in some way grow organically from forms already existing. He said, In a particular way, I encourage everyone to respect the texts and norms of the liturgy with openness, humility, trust in God's greatness, and with sincere fidelity to ecclesial communion. As the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage continued to make its way up the East Coast, it took a day to encounter Friar Pedro de Corpa and Companions, the five Franciscan friars, also known as the Georgia Martyrs, who will be beatified October 31st in Savannah, Georgia. On May 26th, the perpetual pilgrims paused in Brunswick to learn more about the Franciscans' 1597 martyrdom nearby on what is now known as the coast of Georgia. Two years before the martyrdoms, in 1595, six friars had arrived to minister to the native Wale people. One of the Wale sought to take a second wife and was refused by Friar de Corpa, leading to an uprising that brought about the brutal deaths of Friar de Corpa and four other friars. A sixth friar in the group, Friar Francisco de Avala, lived to tell the tale, but he also extended mercy to his attackers, refusing to testify against them at trial in order to prevent their deaths. The intersection of the National Eucharistic Pilgrimage with the work of the Franciscan martyrs, though approximately 500 years apart, shows how the church's work is a constant, said Father Pablo Migone, Vicar for Mission Advancement for the Diocese of Savannah and pastor of two area churches. He said, it's a reminder of how the church has, over the centuries, continued to send out missionaries to all peoples, to all nations, to faraway places. That is something we have done from the very beginning, from the words of Jesus to the apostles. And that's your OSV Newscast for today. I'm Peter Jesser Smith. Check out the show notes for a link to our website, where you can find the stories in this episode. Make sure to subscribe to this podcast, follow us on social media, and bookmark osvnews.com. Thanks so much for listening, and God bless.

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