By Victoria Cardiel
EWTN news
Pope Leo XIV encouraged young people to use social media and artificial intelligence (AI) prudently because “they can immerse us in an unreal world.”
In a video message to participants at the 2026 Halleluya Festival in Fortaleza, Brazil, the pontiff proposed St. Carlo Acutis, known for using digital technologies to evangelize, as a model for new generations.
“He shows how to keep Christ always at the center, even when using technology,” he noted.
Taking that example as a reference, Leo XIV, who published his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, on AI in May, advised young people to use both social media and artificial intelligence appropriately.
“I advise you to use social media and artificial intelligence well, employing these tools in a moderate and disciplined manner, because they can immerse us in an unreal world where the ephemeral, mere appearance, and deception end up taking the place of true values and what really matters,” he warned.
Addressing the participants at the youth evangelization event, which combines music, praise, and worship, the pontiff highlighted the spiritual fruits the initiative has yielded over the years, mentioning “confessions, conversions, and priestly and religious vocations.”
“Today, I would like to say once again how good it is to be with young people. Your enthusiasm is contagious and awakens a renewed apostolic zeal in all of us,” the Holy Father stated.
He also noted that young Catholics possess “a missionary vigor indispensable for transforming this world, which is in such need of the Gospel.”
He thus strongly urged them: “Never lose this missionary zeal!”
The pope emphasized that there are still many people who need to discover that Christ answers the deepest aspirations of the human heart. In this context, he invited young people to proclaim the Christian faith without fear.
“Proclaim with courage that a life without Christ is a life without grace. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life,” he declared, quoting the Gospel of St. John.
León XIV drew upon one of St. John Paul II’s most well-known expressions to invite young people to place their full trust in the Lord.
“Do not be afraid of Christ. He takes nothing away; he gives everything,” he affirmed, noting that whoever gives himself to the Savior “receives a hundredfold” and “always emerges victorious.”
The pope asked the Holy Spirit to rekindle in young people a love capable of transforming their youth into an evangelizing force and to turn them into “living stones” for the building of a “city of peace.”
Pope Leo XIV imparted his apostolic blessing to all the participants and organizers of the Halleluya Festival: “May God always be with you.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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