Keep Calm and Carry On!
Last Wednesday there was a local power outage and the Cathedral along with the whole local area was without lighting and electrical power for a few hours. At the time the Crypt was full of final year design students from John Moores University along with students from Leeds. The young adults were preparing for a fashion show to model their final year designs. It was amazing how calmly everyone took this in their stride without panicking just waiting until service resumed and they could continue with their event. It is noticeable how everything is now affected once the power goes off. There was no phones working, no internet or computers working and so activity comes to a standstill with local shops having to shut because cash machines were no longer working. If this is a sign of how reliant we now are on technology – how much more will we be controlled by and reliant on artificial intelligence in the future.
The recent encyclical of Pope Leo discusses the challenges that society faces with the advent of AI and the development of new technologies particularly concerning how it is controlled and used and its possible effects on humanity.
The encyclical Magnifica Humanitas has received much acclaim. In the document Pope Leo goes far beyond the questions surrounding artificial intelligence, technology and robotics, to the nature of truth, work and freedom. At heart is the dignity of each and every human person and the building of the common good for all. The recruitment of the new intake of boys and girls for the choir begins this weekend. On Sunday afternoon all those who have expressed an interest have been invited to be ‘a chorister for a day’ to get an experience of singing as a group within the Cathedral. Throughout the following week there will be a whole series of auditions to assess singing ability and musical aptitude. The normally peaceful sacristy corridor will have a constant flow of anxious parents and children waiting for their appointment over the coming week.
Monsignor Anthony O’Brien
Dean