Pope Leo XIV: Synodality can help us avoid being another Tower of Babel

Pope Leo XIV on Friday highlighted the role of synodality in promoting the common good and avoiding new divisions.

In his private audience with the participants of the Borgo Dialogues at the Vatican on June 19, Leo praised their work as a commitment to the “ecological, social, and economic transformation of the world.” He also described their work as grounded in the Church’s vision to promote global unity.

“Your dialogues have been structured on the Catholic Church’s vision of synodality, listening from the ground up while fostering global unity,” Leo said.

In his remarks, the pope drew extensively on his recent encyclical on artificial intelligence, Magnifica Humanitas. He urged leaders to resist the temptation to prioritize profits over a civilization of love.

“In the face of the temptation to build the ‘Tower of Babel,’ which represents the idolatry of profit at the expense of the most vulnerable and enhances the risk of dehumanization, we are called to contribute to the construction of the New Jerusalem, the civilization of love, in which love is the only guiding principle of economic, political, and cultural life.”

The Borgo Dialogues were held June 17–19 at the Borgo Laudato Si’, part of the Pontifical Villa Gardens in Castel Gandolfo. Inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si’, the meetings brought together leaders from academia, culture, and business to focus on global ecological challenges and related topics.