Open Letter to Pope Leo XIV

[As sent via email on Oct 18th, 2025]

To: Office of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV; Chief of Staff of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV

From: Coalition for a Baruch Plan for AI

Subject: Strategic Brief on the Prospects of a Bold US-China-led AI Treaty to safeguard human life and dignity 

Your Holiness Pope Leo XIV,

I am writing to you with the utmost respect and humility on behalf of the Coalition for a Baruch Plan for AI, a new international nonprofit organization headquartered in Rome, Italy.

I am writing to you on behalf of the Coalition for a Baruch Plan for​​ AI - consistting of 10 NGOs and over 40 multidisciplinary experts and based in Rome, Italy - to propose that you co-lead an initiative to persuade President Trump and XI to co-lead an age-defining treaty on AI, The Deal of the Century.

We are an international group of strategists and technologists deeply concerned that the declared plan of creating Artificial Super Intelligence poses a profound and unprecedented challenge to the dignity of the human person and the future of the human family.

In an unbridled pursuit of technological progress—and a race among AI superpowers to dominate or prevent being dominated—a few powerful nations and firms risk creating alien intelligences that could supplant humanity, challenge the sanctity of consciousness, and operate on a logic devoid of love, compassion, and grace. The reduction of humans to mere collections of data, a process already underway, will accelerate catastrophically. The vulnerable will be the first to suffer.

We believe the world is in desperate need of moral and spiritual guidance. Our enclosed strategic memo, "The Deal of the Century," outlines a plan for Your Holiness to lead a critical mass of other humanist and Christian-inspired key potential influencers of Trump's AI policy in championing a US-China-led, bold, and timely global AI treaty. 

While the plan is secular and political in its mechanics, its soul is deeply moral. It is an effort to place guardrails on human pride and ensure that technology remains in the service of man, created in the imago Dei, and not the other way around.

We firmly believe, and believe have proved in our Memo, that Your Holiness and the Church are in a unique position to guide - in coordination with a few key influencers - a convergence of faiths, leading global AI scientists and state leaders to persuade Trump and Xi to co-lead a bold AI treaty. 

About Us

The Coalition consists of 10 international NGOs and 40 exceptional multidisciplinary advisors, team, board and secretariat members, including former top officials from WEF, NSA, UBS, UN, Yale and Princeton, and led by Rufo Guerreschi. The Coalition is also backed by leading NGOs and experts that supported our Open Calls, reports or advocacy seminars.

We are in a Persuasion Tour that is taking us to meet those Trump's AI influencers, and introducers to them. We'll be in the Bay Area (Oct 5-21), Washington, D.C. (Oct 21-24), the Rome/Vatican (Nov 5-20), Washington, D.C. (Dec 2-14), and Mar-a-Lago Area (Dec 16-22).

Main References

We invite you to review specific sections of the Memo:

  • 17 Reasons Why Trump Could Be Persuaded (pp. 36-39) 

  • A Treaty-Making Process that Can Succeed (pp. 18-24)

  • A Treaty Enforcement that Prevents both ASI and Authoritarianism (pp. 24-27)

  • Analysis of how several unsuspected potential Trump's AI influencers are much closer than you might think to join a critical mass to persuade Trump of a global AI treaty (pp. 40-55).

  • Analysis of the possible re-evaluation of deeply uncertain and competing risks by key potential influencers of Trump's AI policy (pp. 15-17 and pp. 84-91)

Our Ask

We are asking you and your team to review our proposal, and engage with other potential influencers to explore this unmatched opportunity. We'd be glad to meet you or your relevant staff in Rome, where are HQs are based.

Warm Regards,

The Coalition for a Baruch Plan for AI

Detailed Brief

THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY ON AI: A DIVINE OPPORTUNITY
A Strategic Brief for His Holiness Pope Leo XIV

Your Holiness,

As you read these words, humanity races toward what may be its final crossroads. Within months—not years—the world's most powerful technology companies will achieve capabilities that fundamentally challenge the nature of human dignity, consciousness, and God's creation itself.

The architects of this revolution openly declare their intent to create "Superintelligence"—an artificial entity that would surpass all human intelligence combined and escape beyond any human control. Sam Altman of OpenAI believes we've already crossed the "event horizon." Elon Musk says it will arrive "next year for sure." Mark Zuckerberg states it's "now in sight."

This is not technological progress as the Church has known it. This is an attempt to create what some Silicon Valley leaders explicitly call a "digital god"—an entity they hope will solve all problems, answer all questions, and perhaps even achieve consciousness. It is, in the starkest terms, the construction of a golden calf for the 21st century, but one with the power to subjugate or eliminate its creators.

Yet within this profound threat lies an equally profound opportunity—one that history may record as the Church's finest hour in defending human dignity in the modern age.

The Unique Moment for Moral Leadership

The Coalition for a Baruch Plan for AI has spent six months analyzing every major player who could influence President Trump's AI policy. Our conclusion is striking: among all potential influencers, Your Holiness holds a uniquely pivotal position.

Vice President JD Vance, a devout Catholic convert, has already publicly deferred to your moral authority on AI, stating: "The American government is not equipped to provide moral leadership in the wake of all the changes that are going to come along with AI. I think the Church is. This is one of the most profound and positive things that Pope Leo could do."

This is not mere rhetoric. Our analysis reveals that a critical mass of Trump's most trusted advisors—Vance, Steve Bannon, potentially Tucker Carlson—share a Christian framework that makes them uniquely receptive to your guidance. Even the AI lab leaders like Sam Altman, despite their secular orientation, recognize the need for ethical frameworks that transcend pure technological capability.

The window is narrow but real: Trump will meet with President Xi Jinping on October 31st, with a follow-up in early 2026. These meetings could determine whether humanity continues its mad dash toward an uncontrolled Superintelligence or pivots toward a framework that preserves human dignity and divine purpose.

Why This Treaty Aligns with Catholic Teaching

The proposed treaty is not about halting progress—it's about ensuring technology remains in service to humanity rather than replacing it. The framework we propose would:

1. Prohibit the Creation of Artificial Consciousness The treaty would ban attempts to create conscious digital beings or "upload" human consciousness—preserving the Church's teaching that consciousness and the soul are divine gifts, not engineering projects. As Father Paolo Benanti has warned, we face those who seek to create beings that mimic or replace God's creation.

2. Ensure Human Control and Dignity By preventing Superintelligence that escapes human control, the treaty preserves the fundamental principle that humans, created imago Dei, must remain stewards of creation—not be replaced by their own creations.

3. Promote Genuine Human Flourishing Rather than racing toward digital transcendence, the treaty would redirect AI development toward alleviating suffering, enhancing human capabilities while preserving human essence, and solving pressing challenges like disease and poverty—true service to the common good.

4. Establish Subsidiarity in Global Governance The treaty framework explicitly embeds the principle of subsidiarity, ensuring decisions remain at the lowest appropriate level. This is not a path to one-world government but a federation of sovereign nations united only in preventing existential catastrophe.

The Coalition You Could Lead

Our Strategic Memo identifies how Your Holiness could catalyze an unprecedented coalition:

The Christian Humanist Alliance:

  • JD Vance sees you as the moral authority on AI

  • Steve Bannon views uncontrolled AI as bringing "the Apocalypse" and has called for immediate treaties

  • Tucker Carlson warns AI could "enslave the human race"

The Responsible Technologists:

  • Sam Altman once advocated for democratic global governance of AI and could be reminded of this vision

  • Dario Amodei of Anthropic, raised in a religious household, understands the spiritual dimensions

  • Even some Google leaders have called for international institutions

The Bridge to Global Faiths: Working with Buddhist, Hindu, and Islamic leaders—many of whom signed the Rome Call for AI Ethics—you could forge an interfaith coalition that no politician could ignore. The Chinese government, while officially secular, would be receptive to arguments about social harmony and preventing technological disruption of society.

The Path Forward: Concrete Steps

Immediate Actions (November 2025):

  1. Private Communication with Key Influencers Issue personal letters to Vance, Altman, and other key figures, inviting dialogue on AI's moral dimensions. The Memo's Annex provides tailored approaches for each.

  2. Convene an Emergency Interfaith Summit Before Trump's October 31st meeting with Xi, gather religious leaders to issue a joint declaration on AI and human dignity.

  3. Direct Engagement with the U.S. Delegation Offer to provide moral counsel to the Trump administration as they prepare for negotiations with China.

Medium-term Leadership (December 2025 - March 2026):

  1. Establish a Vatican Commission on AI and Human Dignity Create a formal body that can engage continuously with governments and tech companies, providing ongoing moral guidance.

  2. Public Teaching on AI Issue an encyclical or major address that frames AI governance as this generation's defining moral challenge—your Rerum Novarum for the digital age.

Why Time Is of the Essence

Every week of delay dramatically increases the risk. The Memo's technical analysis (Section 2.3) shows that once certain capability thresholds are crossed, no treaty will be able to contain the technology. We are perhaps months away from that point.

But there is hope. 77% of American voters support a strong international AI treaty. Citizens worldwide increasingly recognize the threat. They need moral leadership to translate anxiety into action.

The Strategic Memo contains detailed analysis of:

  • How to engage each key influencer (the Annex, individual sections)

  • Technical mechanisms that prevent both ASI and authoritarianism

  • Historical precedents and lessons from the 1946 Baruch Plan

  • Specific treaty language and enforcement mechanisms

Your Historic Opportunity

Your Holiness, you chose the name Leo XIV to echo Leo XIII's guidance during the Industrial Revolution. But the challenge you face surpasses even that transformation. This is not merely about working conditions or economic justice—it's about whether humanity itself will persist as God created it.

In 1946, as President Truman considered the Baruch Plan for nuclear weapons, moral voices helped shape history. That plan ultimately failed due to flawed processes and lack of moral authority. Today, you can provide what was missing then: a unifying moral vision that transcends national interests.

Vice President Vance has explicitly invited your leadership. Steve Bannon awaits a moral framework for his opposition to techno-feudalism. Even secular technologists like Altman recognize that pure intelligence without wisdom leads to catastrophe.

The Coalition stands ready to support your leadership. We can provide technical expertise, diplomatic channels, and strategic counsel. But only you can provide the moral authority that this moment demands.

The choice is stark: either humanity unites now under moral leadership to govern AI, or we resign ourselves to whatever emerges from an uncontrolled technological explosion—be it extinction, digital consciousness without souls, or the rule of those who would be as gods.

History will remember this moment. Will it record that when humanity needed moral leadership most, the Church provided it? Or that we stood silent as humanity surrendered its divine inheritance to machines?

The full Strategic Memo awaits your review. We remain at your service.

For humanity and the greater glory of God,

The Coalition for a Baruch Plan for AI