Promoting Integral Human Development and Peace in the Digital Age

Abstract

Esteemed President Roberto Antonelli, Professor Luciano Maiani and Organizers.

Esteemed President Roberto Antonelli, Professor Luciano Maiani and Organizers,

Revered Excellencies and Authorities,

Prestigious Speakers,

Dear Friends,

I wish to convey you the most heartfelt greetings from Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD). His Eminence asked me to assure you all of his deepest sentiments of esteem and gratitude.

1 Introduction

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate the inequities and injustices that for generations have threatened people’s well-being, lives and human rights, with disproportional impact on the poorest and most vulnerable, the Holy Father renews his plea to the human family to radically change its course. Today, I am honored to share with you some insights on the work we do at the Dicastery and at the Vatican Covid Commission (VCC), within the framework of the session where we have been called to intervene (“Thinking about the future”), the broader theme of the 2022 Amaldi Conference (“Problems and progress in the time of pandemics and war”) and with the aim of shedding light on our activities in “Promoting Integral Human Development and Peace in the Digital Age”.

2 PART I, the Vatican Covid-19 Commission

• (1) Prepare the future, no one is saved alone!

Upon the outbreak of the pandemic, Pope Francis established the VCC to respond to the series of interconnected crises that the COVID-19 virus deepened. Inspired by the teachings of the encyclicals Laudato Si’ on the care for our common home (LS)¹ and Fratelli Tutti on fraternity and social friendship (FT),² the Commission enacts the Holy Father’s call to prepare the future through science, theological reflection, and deep collaboration. Drawing on a wealth of expertise from local communities, global platforms, academic experts and in partnership with philanthropic organizations around the globe, the Commission seeks to alleviate immediate suffering and propose novel and creative strategies to usher forth a transformation towards new—more sustainable and inclusive—ways of living.

The challenges we are witnessing are epochal: interconnected and unprecedented health and socio-political crises that have taken root one piece at a time in every sector of the economy and the society, and every State of the international community, which we previously chose not to acknowledge, but now are unavoidably obvious and worsening by the minute. Violence creates an economy of exclusion that, with as a predominant ‘throwaway’ culture, continues to discard people, separating the poor and the marginalized from the prosperity enjoyed by the few. Millions of refugees are denied access to basic human needs or detained for lack of proper identification, left as displaced people in squalid camps and rendered stateless —or held in secretive prisons in third countries. Not to mention the twin existential threat of climate change and nuclear war that today we see with such a gravity.

As the Pope says «The pandemic has shown us that we cannot live without one another, or worse still, pitted against one another. This is why, at this critical juncture, it is our duty to rethink the future of our common home and our common project», for we can never come out of a crisis like the pandemic and be as we were before, we come out either better or worse. No one is saved alone!

• (2) Integral Human Development and Catholic Social Teaching

As the pandemic entered its second year, the human family was confronted with new manifestations of longstanding inequities, including unequal access to COVID-19 vaccines leading to the emergence of new variants, economic recession and multidimensional poverty, and aggravated effects of ongoing (yet often neglected) ecological crises. Yet, we were also granted new opportunities to catalyze systemic change, so that a more caring and peaceful society could emerge from this time of urgency. Today, countless initiatives around the world are propelling this change with courage and creativity by promoting the resilience and flourishing of their communities. They are a clear demonstration that the path to preparing the future starts with the promotion of the integral development of all peoples and planet.

Non si può promuovere lo sviluppo umano oggi senza considerare il Covid: non si può. Ci sarà un prima e un dopo. Non si può combattere il Covid senza sviluppo umano integrale e senza il dialogo con le periferie e con le Chiese di periferia. Non per caso la Commissione ha la sua base nel Dicastero per il Servizio dello Sviluppo Umano Integrale

Pope Francis’ Audience, 26 March 2021

By relying on the pillars of the Catholic Social Teaching, the Church speaks of integral human development meaning that:

• Development is holistic (not restricted to economic growth)

• Development is for all people (not for a few)

• Development is about the whole human person (not just his/her material dimension)

• Development offers feasible models of social integration (does not foment inequality)

• Development comprises the care for the environment (it is not just a “natural resource” for material growth)

• Development is the path for peace among people (not another cause for violence and destruction)

• Development is the path to the good and the flourishing which is the vocation of the human family.

• Integral human development requires dialogue of faith & reason

Throughout 2021, the VCC sought to monitor and adapt to the fluctuating reality of the pandemic and address the emergence of new injustices by:

• Offering the voice of the Catholic Church to highlight the interconnectedness of the present pandemic and other global crises, as well as its impact on the most vulnerable;

• Listening to local Churches and offering resources for integral action and hope for change (eg. “20 points for a universal and fair destination of vaccines for a fairer and healthier world”, “Healing the planet by ensuring the right to food for all”, etc.);

• Engaging decision-makers and global platforms to support them in carving a new path forward and resist temptations to return to “business as usual”;

• Embodying a new way of working that responds to the Holy Father’s vision for the synodal renewal of the Church.

For 2022, the Commission has set forth on a path to strengthen its communication and partnership with local Churches. To listen to their realities and to accompany them through their sufferings and support their own processes of conversion; connect change-makers across the world and shine a light on existing best practices to inspire further action. In 2022, the Commission will work to embody the new path of synodality in order to dream, prepare, and live in a better future with the people of God.

3 PART II Promoting Integral Human Development and Peace in the Digital Age

• (1) DSSUI activities on new tech

Although the DSSUI does not intend to claim any specific expertise on the matter of new technologies (Octogesima Adveniens, 4), we believe, that even in such unprecedent and innovative domain, it is still our mission to offer the Church’s wisdom to the world, mindful that integral development is the path for peace (Populorum Progressio, 76).

As Pope Francis says, in modern era technologies are not neutral (LS 114), for they are part of a single great crisis, the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. Although each new technology (AI, blockchain, etc.) can bring a certain degree of progress that must be recognized and celebrated, what is urgent and necessary is an authentically integral approach, which protects and promotes human dignity in a society that is no longer just technological, but more and more technocratic (LS 101 and 106 et seq.). As Pope Francis notes, «paradoxically, we have certain ancestral fears that technological development has not succeeded in eliminating; indeed, those fears have been able to hide and spread behind new technologies (FT 27)».

Building on these theological bases, the VCC’s Security Task Force (STF) has been entrusted to continue the activities on the ethics of new technologies started at the foundation of the DPIHD. Two major international conferences have resulted from this work so far: “The Common Good in the Digital Age”³ (16–24 September 2019) and “Promoting Integral Human Development in Times of Pandemic: New Technologies in the Post-COVID World” (9 December 2021).⁴

These events were unique opportunities for experts interested in collaborating with the Holy See on the intersection of technologies and integral human development to become acquainted with the Vatican entities and each other, with a view towards establishing a network of experts and begin further processes regarding new technologies across the Church. Externally to the Holy See, we sought to address the authentic need of the scientific, economic, and business worlds and international institutions for an ethical discussion on the opportunities and risks connected to the technological progress of society.

List of (some of the) participants from the past events “The Common Good In The Digital Age” (September 2019) ▪ Mr. Alfred Berkeley, Princeton Capital Management, Former President of NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. from 1996 until 2000 and Advisor on Cyber Security for three US presidents, USA ▪ Prof. Anna Abram, Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom ▪ Dr. Antonio Missiroli, North Atlantic Treaty Organization—Deputy Secretary General, Brussels, Belgium ▪ Mr. Aziz Ahmad, UTC Associates, Inc—CEO, New York, USA ▪ Mr. Gavin Corn, Facebook—Associate General Counsel and Director of the Cyber Security Law Team, Sunnyvale, CA, USA ▪ Mr. Jim Welsh, Western Digital—Senior Vice President, Los Altos, USA ▪ Mr. Malcom Wright, Diginex—Chief Compliance Officer, Hong Kong ▪ Ms. Mitchell Baker, Mozilla—Executive Chairwoman, Mountain View, USA ▪ Ms. Nadezhda Arbatova, IMEMO, Russian Academy of Sciences—Head of Department on European Political Studies, Moscow, Russia “New Technologies For Peace And Integral Human Development” (December 2021) ▪ Dr. Jovan Kurbalija, Diplo Foundation, Founder And Director, Geneva, Switzerland ▪ Dr. Maryann Cusimano Love, Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., US ▪ Dr. Paolo Gianturco, Deloitte Italia, Milan, Italy ▪ Dr. Lyndon Burford, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom ▪ Dr. Kristina Hook, Kennesaw State University, US ▪ Ms. Danielle Mclaughlin, Altimeter Group, New York, US ▪ Prof. Francesco Silvestri, TOChina Hub; Istituto Commercio Estero Italia, Rome/Turin, Italy; Shanghai, China ▪ Ms. Marie Dennis, Pax Christi International, Washington D.C., US ▪ Dr. Gian Piero Siroli, Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (CERN) and Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, Geneva, Switzerland ▪ Dr. Preston Mcintyre, Holding Space AD, CEO, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates ▪ Dr. Page Stoutland, Nuclear Threat Initiative, New York, US

• (2) STF’s future projects

The STF is deepening the reflection on the ethical implications of the development and diffusion of new technologies through the reinforcement of its new network of experts and partners inside and outside the Vatican. More in particular, we seek to reach the margins, through a more and more interreligious and intercultural approach, so as to capture their perspective on certain challenges in the technological field. There will be a greater effort to listen to local contexts, possibly drawing on the broader networks of the VCC.

The following domains –among many others– will be explored:

• (i) the urgency to create international norms around new technologies

• (ii) cybersecurity, which is continually evolving, and exploring IoT application vulnerability to hacking attempts

• (iii) the benefits and risks around FinTech and the responsibility of financial actors to address ethical concerns

• (iv) the issues faced by workers following the pandemic, highlighting the specific burden digitalization of work can bring on women who provide care work

• (v) bridging the digital divide by promoting education around new technologies to populations currently without access

• (vi) the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in monitoring hate speech, defamation and discrimination and many others.

In leading this project, and here we approach closer the theme of this conference, the STF retains as a foundational paradigm the concept of “Integral Security”, i.e. the need to take into account also economic and social elements that broaden what has been understood so far by the term “security.”

Integral Security The concept of “Integral Security” has never been clearly defined by any official document of the Holy See. However, this concept is contained in some official speeches and interventions and can be derived from the concepts of “Integral Human Development” and “Integral Ecology”, introduced in the Encyclical letter Laudato Si’, as well as other pontifical documents In the Laudato Sì, Pope Francis goes beyond the idea of traditional green practices to call for a more integrated and inclusive approach that takes into account the political, social, economic, and environmental problems. Moreover, Pope Francis emphasizes the relationships between the human being, its societies, and the ecosystem On the same level, already in the Conciliar document Gaudium et Spes it is explained that «Peace is not merely the absence of war, nor can it be reduced solely to the maintenance of a balance of power between enemies». In line with this vision, the Holy See has always proposed an approach to disarmament and to security that reflects the multidimensionality of such topic and that aims to develop a world that is built on mutual trust and not «on a false sense of security sustained by a mentality of fear and mistrust» “Integral Security” was at the center of the intervention of H.E. Card. Parolin, Secretary of State, at the STF’s webinar “Advancing integral disarmament in times of pandemic”, hosted by the DPIHD in collaboration with the Strategic Concept for the Removal of Arms and Proliferation in support of a global ceasefire, and has been utilized in other interventions and speeches in the last years5 As the Holy See has repeatedly emphasized, a correct concept of security calls into question elements not only of a political-military nature but also of an ethical-moral, juridical and socio-economic nature. This is what we can rightly describe as integral security Our reconsidered concept of security should be based on this awareness, on looking forward to a coherent approach to security in light of the modern-day threats Therefore, “Integral Security” can be defined as a broader an inclusive concept of “security”, that is better suited to answer to the present treats the world is facing because takes into account the different dimensions related to human security in relation to the ideas of Integral Ecology and Integral Human Development: «in the end, a peace which is not the result of integral development will be doomed; it will always spawn new conflicts and various forms of violence». (EG 219) It may sound paradoxical in our times—where «trust […] ceased to exist» (Caritas in Veritate, 35) —but our (integral) security coincides with the (integral) security of the others and depends on the «the same fraternal spirit of care and closeness that marked the Good Samaritan», for «Love […] is more than just a series of benevolent actions. Those actions have their source in a union increasingly directed towards others, considering them of value, worthy, pleasing and beautiful apart from their physical or moral appearances. Our love for others, for who they are, moves us to seek the best for their lives. Only by cultivating this way of relating to one another will we make possible a social friendship that excludes no one and a fraternity that is open to all» (FT 79 and 94) A coherent “integral security” approach allows us to overcome the tensions we live between our individual moment and the greater, brighter horizon of the utopian future as the final cause which draws us to itself, in order to vivify what Pope Francis sees as a first principle for progress in building a people, for “time is greater than space”: «Giving priority to time means being concerned about initiating processes rather than possessing spaces» (EG 222). Likewise, integral security requires acknowledging one of others principle that Pope Francis proclaims as indispensable for the building of friendship in society, “unity is greater than conflict”: «the message of peace is not about a negotiated settlement but rather the conviction that the unity brought by the Spirit can harmonize every diversity. It overcomes every conflict by creating a new and promising synthesis. Diversity is a beautiful thing when it can constantly enter into a process of reconciliation and seal a sort of cultural covenant resulting in a “reconciled diversity” (EG 230)». Finally, “the whole is greater than the part, but it is also greater than the sum of its parts”: «we can work on a small scale, in our own neighbourhood, but with a larger perspective. Nor do people who wholeheartedly enter into the life of a community need to lose their individualism or hide their identity; instead, they receive new impulses to personal growth (EG 235)»

4 Conclusions

One of the most urgent issues of the post-pandemic world is the erosion of trust and the social contract. Trust is both a product of and a precondition for the prevention of violence, both direct and structural, so it is vital to protect this cultural value. We need to rediscover the authentic meaning of entering dialogue among ourselves. That is why Pope Francis does not speak of “exercise of encounter,” but rather of a “culture of encounter”.⁶ New technologies are being used to erode trust but could also play a role in building it –for example, the internet and digital tools are being used successfully in nonviolent strategies to prevent or transform violence and to build just peace. Blockchain might be useful in building a new arms verification system, small scale. There exist hundreds of local projects using technology for the common good from the bottom up in economy, ecology and health. Utilizing the moral imagination to develop theoretical uses of new technologies that serve the common good is greatly needed at this time of history.

As I have tried to show, the Church has a particular ability to link global philosophical and theoretical reflection with local practical wisdom to practice encounter in specific contexts. In the case of new technologies, the Church can first develop positions on the ethics of the uses of new technologies, drawing on Catholic social teaching. It can present local and global wisdom to international fora and campaign for concrete action. It can facilitate connections between various actors across the world and can host discussions among them. Then, upon further reflection on the efficacy of its practice, always according to the guidelines of true encounter and integral human development, it can change its positions based on global developments. In this way, a culture of encounter is constantly fostered, and new technologies may eventually be collaboratively and ethically governed.

Notes

• 1. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html.

• 2. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html.

• 3. Available at: https://www.digitalage19.org/.

• 4. Available at: https://www.humandevelopment.va/en/eventi/2021/nuove-tecnologie-e-nel-mondo-post-covid.html.

• 5. Available at: https://www.humandevelopment.va/en/eventi/2021/advancing-integral-human-development-in-times-of-pandemic.html#:~:text=On%2023rd%20March%202021%20at,event%20%E2%80%9CAdvancing%20integral%20disarmament%20in.

• 6. Pope Francis, Morning meditation in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae, For a culture of encounter, 13 September 2016. Available at: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/cotidie/2016/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20160913_for-a-culture-of-encounter.html.