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Pope Leo XIV’s new book calls human fraternity the antidote to extremism. He’s right—and the digital world proves it. Online, people shrink into ideas, profiles, and arguments. But if the Gospel is true, we’re called to something harder: to see the human being behind the disagreement. Here’s how that challenge has shaped the way I try to engage online.
How Human Dignity Disarms Extremism
Catholic News Agency reported on a new book by Pope Leo XIV titled Human Fraternity: A Divine Gift. In it, the Holy Father argues that authentic human fraternity—rooted in the dignity of every person—is the only real antidote to extremism, polarization, and ideological conflict. He warns that modern life is increasingly swallowed up by battles of ideas, and when we lose the sense of the person in front of us (literally, when we do not sense the humanity of the person), hostility is never far behind. The book calls Christians to lead by living a fraternity that reflects the Fatherhood of God.
…an English version, please!
What stands out is how the pope frames fraternity not as a vague idea or sentimentbut as a lived, concrete practice. Extremism thrives wherever persons are reduced to positions or labels, or when their ideas are abstracted from their dignity. The moment a human being becomes a representative of an idea—rather than a person loved by God—we’re more willing to speak harshly, assume the worst, or escalate conflict. The pope isn’t asking us to pretend disagreements don’t matter. He’s saying something much more Christian: that no disagreement ever justifies abandoning the dignity of the person we’re speaking to.
“I’m easily triggered by bad ideas or objectively false claims. My instincts fire up quickly. “
This is especially true online. On the internet, it’s easy to forget there’s a person behind the argument. Everyone becomes a screen name, a handle, an emoji, or a loud take. I’ll be honest: I’m easily triggered by bad ideas or objectively false claims. My instincts fire up quickly. So I’ve had to develop a discipline for engaging online—because without discipline, I’ll respond more like a gladiator than a Christian.
One thing that’s helped me for years is surprisingly simple:
I check the person’s profile.
I know, it sounds creepy. Hear me out.
I don’t comb through their profile or feed in a stalkerish way. Just enough to remind myself that this is a human being there. I look for a face. A biography. I try to see someone with joys, burdens, flaws, hopes—just like me. When I do that, something shifts. I still speak truthfully, but my tone and rhetorical strategy becomes measured, fair, and more considerate and charitable. Some days I don’t do it so well, but I’d give myself 7 out of 10 stars on it—10 out of 10 for the effort.
Because the moment I re-encounter someone’s humanity, I’m reminded that my goal is not to win an argument. My goal is to witness to the Gospel in how I speak and to care for the person “in front” of me, as best as I’m able to. And that’s what Pope Leo XIV is urging us to recover: a way of engaging others that refuses to sacrifice truth, but also refuses to sacrifice love.
I once read a book by Benedict XVI where he spoke of some the flaws of early evangelizers: Some loved Truth, at the expense of charity. Others love persons at the expense of Truth. Sadly I dont remember which book it was, but the lesson never left me. So I leave you with that. Find the balance, love well, and you’ll be like Jesus.
Fraternity isn’t sentimental.
It’s a discipline.
And in a world drowning in extremism, it’s the discipline we need most.
God be with you all.