Pope Leo tonight appealed again to the international community to “assist the people of Gaza.” He issued his appeal when he met journalists at Castel Gandolfo, where he spends most Tuesdays away from the Vatican, before returning to Rome. He also repeated his call, made yesterday at the launch for his first encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas,” for “a disarmed artificial intelligence.” 

Pope Leo was asked to comment on what happened to the members of the latest flotilla attempting to reach Gaza, which Israel intercepted in international waters, some 250 miles off the coast of Israel. Activists, along with journalists and at least one lawmaker from Italy, were transferred onto military boats and brought to a larger military vessel at a port in southern Israel, where they were held in containers, according to their accounts. They told The Associated Press they were punched and kicked, as well as dragged and pulled by their hair. Israel denies mistreatment. 

According to ANSA, the Italian news agency, Leo replied, “We must issue a new call for respect for the human rights of all.”

“Unfortunately,” he added, “the people of Gaza are still not receiving humanitarian aid, and this is causing protests, hardship, and even the actions of those who participated in the flotilla. I would like to renew my appeal to all authorities to assist the people of Gaza. To help them now to begin to rebuild because the people are truly still suffering.”

Asked what it means when unarmed peace activists are met with violence, Pope Leo warned of the danger of fuelling further hatred. “We are provoking more and more hatred,” he said, adding that “violence does not help. From any side.” Instead, the pope stressed the need “to return to negotiations” and “to seek, through dialogue, to resolve problems,” always “respecting the human rights of everyone.”

The pope was also asked how he and the Vatican plan to continue the dialogue around A.I. following the release on May 25 of his encyclical “on safeguarding the human person in the time of artificial intelligence.” Pope Leo said, “Today we have already continued our work; there was a sort of collaboration with the Dicastery for Integral Human Development and with some people working at Anthropic.” Earlier in the day, members of the dicastery attended a three-hour briefing with tech experts on what is happening in the field of A.I.

Pope Leo reaffirmed what he said in the synod hall yesterday: “The call is to continue the dialogue, to truly seek a disarmed artificial intelligence” because “war is waged today with A.I.” He added, “We have seen other cases today, in Lebanon, where it is waged without regard for human lives,” referring to the Israeli strikes on the south of the country in violation of the recent ceasefire. The Israel Defense Forces said it had carried out strikes on 100 Hezbollah sites and fighters in the Bekaa Valley and other parts of the country. The BBC reported that 11 people were killed in the village of Mashghara.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report. 

Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.