Pope Leo XIV welcomed members of the Latin American Association of Private Health Systems to the Vatican and urged them to safeguard the dignity of every patient as healthcare increasingly relies on artificial intelligence and digital tools. The group is in Rome for its ninth seminar on ethical questions in health management, an event supported by the Pontifical Academy for Life.
The Holy Father noted that their gathering, held during the Jubilee Year, carries a spiritual dimension. He encouraged participants to see their time in Rome as part of a wider journey of reflection, one that invites the Church and society to consider together how medical care can remain rooted in compassion. He recognized the variety of professional backgrounds represented and assured them that the Church esteems their dedication to those who are ill.
Turning to the rapid transformation of modern healthcare, Pope Leo acknowledged that technological development can strengthen medical services and improve the stewardship of resources. At the same time, he cautioned that these tools introduce new moral challenges. Algorithms, he observed, can be shaped by economic motivations or political pressures, and such influences can affect the way health information is sorted or interpreted. When this occurs, decisions about care may become distorted without anyone immediately realizing it.
The Pope warned that subtle forms of bias can slip into systems that rely heavily on data. When technology begins to frame a person primarily as a set of figures or categories, the risk grows that patients will no longer be viewed as individuals with sacred worth. He noted that this reduction can lead to decisions that prioritize efficiency or cost at the expense of those most in need, harming the very people healthcare is meant to protect.
Pope Leo invited health leaders to respond to these concerns by embracing a broader moral horizon. He encouraged them to ground their decisions in solidarity and a sincere commitment to the common good. This outlook, he said, calls for a way of seeing others that is not shaped by profit or speed but by a desire to do what truly serves human flourishing. By forming this kind of vision, health administrators can look upon their patients with the reverence God Himself has for every person.
He also reminded them that technology can never replace the human presence at the heart of authentic care. Medical practice is sustained by gestures of closeness, by listening, and by recognizing each patient in his or her vulnerability. When human contact remains central, technological progress becomes a support for healing rather than an obstacle to it.
Pope Leo concluded his reflections with the hope that ethical responsibility and compassionate attention will guide the participants in their work. With such an approach, he said, it becomes possible to integrate innovation into healthcare while upholding the dignity that belongs to every child of God.