Democratic Republic of Congo: ‘Magnifica Humanitas’—A Synodal language in a conflict zone

Marie José Muando Buabualo – Vatican City

“For language to become a true instrument of peace, Magnifica Humanitas emphasises that the approach must incorporate the pillars of synodality by listening, especially to victims of conflicts or technological exclusion,” said Father Justin Nkunzi.

Inspired by the first encyclical of Pope Leo XIV, Father Justin Nkunzi highlights how, in the social context of the Archdiocese of Bukavu, DRC, technology “can heal, educate, and protect the common home, but it can also divide and create new injustices.”

Speech as a remedy for peace 

According to Father Nkunzi, the ethically questionable aspect of artificial intelligence is whether it promotes peace or not. For Pope Leo, what is concerning is when “artificial intelligence attacks the human person through manipulation of their intelligence, conscience, and language.” So, how can speech become a remedy for building lasting peace in a conflict zone? The President of the Justice and Peace Commission of Bukavu, points to the Holy Father’s statement on humanity: “The human person created by God, in all splendour and magnificence, faces a decisive choice—to build or not to build a new Tower of Babel.”

To avoid the syndrome of this tower, “whose uniformity erases differences,” artificial intelligence must be used in such a way as to “make peace triumph in our environment,” Fr. Nkunzi said. He added, “Moreover, my fellow smallholder farmers and artisans that I live with daily (in Bukavu) expect artificial intelligence to improve their living conditions, access to basic services, and to bring about peace, not to foster a technology that manufactures bombs and drones, which rain down on us here every day and create death and more inequalities. We deplore this type of technology,” he affirmed.

Father Nkunzi highlights the anonymity faced by targeted individuals: “victims have no face, no identity, no faults, no history because bomb or drone strikes spare no one, and sometimes the perpetrators want us to settle for the excuse of ‘collateral damage.’” This is one of the ethically disturbing aspects of artificial intelligence, he noted.

Disinformation—a weapon of war

In conflict zones, disinformation is a weapon of war and mass destruction: “False rumours about the identity and motives of aggressors; manipulated videos; hate speech disguised as information; angelic promises based on identity manipulation—all of these can fuel the cycle of violence if there is no genuine search for truth and a commitment not to betray it,” Fr Nkunzi said.   

According to the Bukavu-based priest, unscrupulous adults often tell lies shamelessly before all of humanity in pursuit of personal interests, and sometimes succeed in imposing their own distorted versions of reality or the truth.

One of Fr Justin Nkunzi’s Justice and Peace training sessions

Protecting the tuth

To break free from a climate of lies and manipulation, Father Nkunzi suggests three paths: rigorous fact-checking, detecting retouched images, and tracing the origin of videos to verify reliable information. He also urges monitoring social media networks, following narratives in real-time, and analysing all online content to prevent misinformation. Another approach involves creating training modules for ordinary people, “because we are easy prey to artificial intelligence due to lack of proper education in these areas, and also because of the absence of oversight and courage to oppose deviations,” he said.   

“Furthermore, we need to reach a stage where we must interpret facts for ourselves,” Father Nkunzi emphasised.

AI has no heart, no emotions, no empathy

Before imposing a narrative that contributes to establishing lasting peace, Father Nkunzi notes that Pope Leo emphasised the importance of co-constructing peace with communities—women, men, youth, children, grassroots leaders, traditional leaders, religious leaders, and interfaith platforms—all working together for the common good. “Everyone must contribute. That’s the advice the Pope gives us.”

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“AI has no heart, no emotions, no empathy. So how can we dispense of humanity? How can we proceed without human emotions, gaze, history, wounds still bleeding? Why would we want to only privilege algorithms?” Fr. Nkunzi wondered.

“Communities (such as in eastern DRC) must become protagonists in serving peace and shaping the course of events. Instead of being protagonists of our destiny, we have been subjected for years to a regime of emergencies—catastrophes and epidemics striking us relentlessly. That is our collective misfortune,” Fr Nkunzi said. As Pope Leo XIV states again in his encyclical, “we risk letting the succession of emergencies decide for us the direction to take.”

Wars in the Great Lakes Region 

The Holy Father’s invitation “to build, with the tools of our time, a city where God and humanity dwell together” is a clarion call to create a magnificent humanity—a paradise for all children of God. The primary instrument for this synodal journey, Fr. Nkunzi adds, is a Church that listens.

To put an end to the endless wars ravaging the Great Lakes Region of Central Africa and surrounding areas, Father Nkunzi advocates for embracing and accepting the other: “These wars, created for us without us, ultimately benefit no one—especially not the vulnerable citizens of these regions. We all—Africans and inhabitants of the Great Lakes sub-region—must understand that we need each other because we share the same sun, rain, climate, and challenges. We have an obligation to unite and live peacefully in this sub-region that heaven has graciously given us.”