Religious quotes and news – June 14, 2026
Snippets of religious statements and highlights of events from around the world
Quotes from Pope Leo’s encyclical Manifica Humanitas:
Humans and the Church
“Every person is planned and willed by God to enter into communion with him, with others and with creation. Human dignity does not depend on a person’s abilities, wealth or position, nor on right or wrong choices made; it is a gift that transcends each person, endowed by God as an expression of his love. The human person always remains the ‘way for the Church’ and the heart of every authentic path of integral human development.” (50)
No moral conscience
“So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences.
“They may imitate language, behaviour and analytical skills, or even simulate empathy and understanding, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom.” (99)
Heart: true closeness
“Digital culture multiplies connections and offers opportunities for interaction; yet, the heart retains an irrevocable need for genuine closeness. Cherish times where physical presence remains crucial, such as shared meals, community gatherings, time spent with the lonely, and serving the poor. These are signs of a humanity that continues to believe every person’s body is a dwelling place of God and the Holy Spirit. It is this covenant between glory and fragility that becomes the criterion for evaluating the anthropological models offered by contemporary culture.” (239)
Build relationships
“Let us cultivate relationships. In an era that favours speed and fragmentation, the human person still yearns to receive care and recognition from attentive minds, kind words and hands capable of tenderness.” (239)
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)