James Valentine meets the pope at the Pearly Gates. This is not the lead-in to a punchline delivered too soon, but a match made in heaven that could help those of us left behind preserve our humanity.

While the wave of grief that followed the Sydney presenter’s passing in April may be slowly subsiding, the brio of his departure has settled deeply with those of us who were part of his vast network of goodwill.

I was lucky to be a small part of this world. For a few years I would run the “people’s poll” for afternoon listeners where we explored everything from our showering habits (58% mornings to 42% evenings) to the opening move in rock-paper-scissors (55% rock).

Like so much of his work, this was not just a frivolous way to pass the time with his audience; what James created with skill and intentionality was a living organism that offered to sustain anyone who chose to join in. This was his gift.

While James was effusively equivocal about religion, I couldn’t help thinking about his earthly contribution as I read the papal encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, released a few weeks ago.

Pope Leo XIV’s letter to the Catholic flock and all people of goodwill is a much-anticipated intervention in the hyper-scaling of so-called artificial intelligence.

It builds on the work of his predecessor, Leo XIII, who he named himself after,........

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