In a speech at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO, the pontiff said multilateral groups 'are experiencing a crisis of effectiveness, ' adding that 'dialogue is seen as an obstacle to action rather than a resource for peace, a charade rather than an opportunity to seek the common good together.' He also decried world leaders who disrespect the rule of law, saying 'instead of respecting the law, those in power invoke it when it serves their interests and disregard it when it restrains them.'
Earlier, speaking at the Élysée Palace after an hour of talks with President Emmanuel Macron, the Pope warned against 'losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines' and called for 'urgent … education in ethical discernment' as AI conditions daily life. The warning echoes his first major teaching document published in May, in which he called for AI to be 'disarmed' and compared the technology's potential for exploitation to the slave trade.
The visit, the first by a pope to France in nearly 20 years, has drawn large crowds. President Macron greeted Leo at Orly airport, and the pair will deliver a speech in Metz later in the week. The highpoint is expected to be a giant Mass on Saturday at the Place de la Concorde, with more than half a million people attending. Macron will not attend any Masses, citing France's strict separation of state and religion.
The Pope said that 'authentic secularity' should not exclude religion 'from the public sphere or from education.' Macron had earlier hailed the visit as a 'great honour' and stressed that French secularism 'in no way negates religion.'
Leo, the first US pope, has drawn the ire of President Donald Trump after criticising the Iran war. His visit also comes as the Church seeks to repair its standing in France after widespread abuse scandals.