Faith & Technology · In the news
A Catholic perspective on Africa’s digital economy
Original coverage by National Catholic Register ·
Coverage overview
The National Catholic Register carries ACI Africa and EWTN News reporting on the April 2026 Africa Digital Assets Summit. The story explores a practical question for emerging financial technology: how can new systems include people whose lives and needs are often missing from the data?
Excerpt from National Catholic Register
Archbishop Van Megen framed technological development as a moral question with direct implications for vulnerable communities, cautioning that modern financial and technological infrastructure, while promising inclusion, could instead sideline vulnerable populations if not designed with them in mind.
“Artificial intelligence, fintech ecosystems, and digital identity infrastructures are not merely tools; they are rapidly becoming systems of governance,” he said, adding that “they determine access to credit, healthcare, mobility, and even citizenship itself.”
He noted that “in previous eras, exclusion was visible. Today, it is increasingly encoded.”
The Dutch-born archbishop, whom Pope Leo XIV appointed as the new apostolic nuncio to Germany on April 9, cautioned that digital systems presented as neutral or efficient can quietly exclude people who lack stable digital records or formal participation in financial systems.
“The danger is not only that technology may fail the poor,” he said. “The deeper danger is that it may systematically exclude them while appearing neutral, efficient, and even progressive.”