Cardinal Pietro Parolin says world's fragmentation starts with forgetting what a human person is

Cardinal Pietro Parolin said on September 25 that the loss of a shared understanding of human identity is the root cause of global fragmentation. Speaking at a dinner in New York during the United Nations General Assembly’s High-level Week, the Vatican Secretary of State told guests that technology, excessive freedom, and diversity are not the primary drivers of this division.

Parolin spoke as an honoree of CAPP-USA, the arm of the Fondazione Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice that promotes Catholic social teaching. He urged attendees to prioritize physical presence and human encounter in an era of digital connection and offline disconnection. Citing Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Parolin noted that while modern technology is not an enemy, human dignity belongs to people rather than to algorithms or systems.

He also referenced Rerum Novarum, the 1891 encyclical by Pope Leo XIII that established the foundation for Catholic social teaching. Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, delivered the benediction for the event. Other attendees included U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz and Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly.