In his first major address during a four-day apostolic visit to France, Pope Leo XIV delivered a firm defense of human dignity and public ethics at the Élysée Palace on September 25, 2026. Speaking to President Emmanuel Macron, political leaders, diplomats, and civil society representatives, the Pontiff cautioned against allowing science and technology to become purely profit-driven enterprises. He expressed concern over societal trends embracing genetic manipulation, surrogacy, organ trading, and controlled death, affirming that protecting and respecting all human life remains a collective duty for everyone.
The speech directly addressed sensitive social developments in France, following the nation’s legalization of assisted suicide and euthanasia earlier in the summer. Pope Leo XIV urged French leaders to embrace an “authentic secularism”—one that does not banish faith from public discourse, but instead values religious institutions as partners in serving the common good. Reassuring his audience, the Pope emphasized that a Christian engaged in public service acts out of conscience rather than proselytization, echoing President Macron’s past sentiments that Church and State must maintain an open dialogue to serve society effectively.
Throughout his address, the Pontiff invoked France’s rich heritage and its core motto—liberty, equality, fraternity—as essential moral guidelines in an era of rapid technological and artificial intelligence advances. He warned against blindly submitting to a “Paradise of Machines,” called for a global ban on nuclear weapons, and expressed sorrow over ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. Closing with a tribute to the firefighters and artisans who restored Notre-Dame Cathedral after its 2019 fire, Pope Leo XIV highlighted their effort as proof that what seems irreparably lost can always be rebuilt through shared commitment.