In the 2025 documentary film “The Age of Disclosure,” we watch Luis Elizondo—a former senior intelligence official who leads the push for government transparency about UAP investigations—as he reads instructive words engraved on the Jefferson Memorial.

America’s third president had written in 1816: “… Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths discovered and manners and opinions change, with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.”

On a different topic, in early 2023, the Future of Life Institute published an open letter from tech experts urging a pause in artificial intelligence R&D given the danger of “a profound change in the history of life on earth.”

That letter has elicited no broad response, despite more than 33,000 signatures now appended online. It called for a “public and verifiable” moratorium on training the most advanced AI systems, to be enacted by national governments if necessary. The authors also urged  establishing “well-resourced institutions for coping with the dramatic economic and political disruptions (especially to democracy) that AI will cause.”

These scenarios of preparation enabling self-correction are food for thought during the spiritual season of Lent.

What’s Lent Got to Do with It?

AI and unidentified anomalous phenomena are just two subjects—along with economic vulnerabilities, startling wartime innovations, complex implications of global migration, and many more—where individuals and humanity at large must keep au courant during this era of rapid change.

As always, our efforts to become better “response teams” should draw upon time-tested practices and lessons from experience. Lent prepares Christians to stay grounded for one of history’s transformational moments through hope in Easter redemption, and it can put all of us on guard against our inevitable shortcomings—missteps which might, at any time, take the form of sin.

The season’s spirit of penitence, which makes us detectives of the defective, encourages use of a valuable, and year-round, tradition called “examinations of conscience.”

Today’s ethical situations of growing complexity and ambiguity require us to make rigorous assessments of pitfalls in our minds and hearts. Dangers include mediocrity, distraction, and the “seven deadly sins.” Pondering our current relationships with God and fellow humans, we uncover inconvenient facts about ourselves and our lives in community. Indifference is a modern luxury we should avoid.

The “prep course” of Lent has always entailed examinations, although it seems the tests are becoming more numerous and difficult. Judeo-Christian principles have always been good study guides, distinguishing between good and evil, honoring forgiveness and sacrifice, and affirming that our collaborative pilgrimage has a higher destiny. We’ve taken classes in “the humanities,” but now we may need a special review session on “humanity.”

Many DIY examinations of conscience, learned by young Catholics, relied upon assembling checklists prior to receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation. Penitents reported metrics of how many times they had lied, disobeyed parents, or acted wrongly toward someone else.

A wiser approach in this unruly era is to let the Golden Rule expand our imaginations and move us beyond checking boxes. In the Catholic Mass, for example, congregants recite a prayer of contrition in which we admit to each other that we have sinned “in what I have done and in what I have failed to do.”

These are times to wonder whether there’s more we should think about, more we should do. Our responsibility, though sharply focused, expands to include all human persons and unique human possibilities.

Let Me Count the Ways

“All sin has an individual dimension because sin is ultimately a personal choice to reject God’s will,” says Magis AI, an insightfully curated resource at the Magis Center’s website. Therefore, we should pursue “conversion, contrition, confession, and penance”—motivated not by guilt, but by the desire to optimize our liberty. We seek the grace that connects us to our core identity and the big picture, including eternity.

The notion of “liberal,” as referenced in the “liberal arts,” fosters a knack for critical thought, inclusive understanding, and “ethical engagement with the world.” The description is from Google AI, which also says this liberty of empowerment “cultivates informed and active citizens who contribute to society.”

Catholic theology adds its own perspectives to this high level of accountability. Magis AI describes the phenomenon called “social sin.” Sadly, humans coalesce into collective patterns and unjust structures which “offend human dignity.” Group malpractice toxifies the human ecology; such sin calls for everyone’s “efforts—at both the personal and social levels—to seek justice, charity, and solidarity.”

Scrutiny of our combined duties doesn’t end there. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also says people must be truthful in our relationships. Although such factors as discretion and respect for privacy can preclude telling the public the whole scoop about everybody in all circumstances, the Catechism is clear: “In justice, as a matter of honor, one man owes it to another to manifest the truth.” (paragraph 2469)

This panoramic view of duties, Lenten and otherwise, shouldn’t cower us; any earthly pursuit of complete knowledge is a fool’s errand. But tough-minded examinations of conscience can be the path to God’s liberating pardon and mercy, as well as guidance in striving for the common good.

Popes keep coaching Catholics, and the world, to adopt ambitious goals, like praying consistently for nations and individuals to make peace with each other. This mindfulness extends to other tasks.

On Oct. 9, 2025, Pope Leo XIV addressed executives of global media organizations, saying they too bear responsibility to boost the sagacity and fruitfulness of people and their relationships. The news media, he said, have “a crucial role in forming consciences  and helping critical thinking.”

Media producers and consumers can advance their service to all through conscientiousness. This implies a regimen of inquiry into social behaviors and aspirations which meets the need to understand, and care about, our private and public trajectories.

Looking Around and Looking Up

That’s the thrust of a forthcoming book by Arthur Brooks, a best-selling guru on character strengths. His new work, The Meaning of Your Life, begins with his thesis that “meaning has collapsed” in many people’s lives. They sense they are living in a simulation, with “false rewards” and “empty accomplishments.”

Brooks urges readers to critique and correct their paths by opening up to “the deepest mysteries of life—mysteries that are deeply human because they could never even register with any other species.”

Our society, like executives in Pope Leo’s October audience, delves into humanity’s depths in clumsy and shallow ways. We’re preoccupied by materialism and clickbait.

Secular journalists, politicians, and cultural critics are certainly productive in digging for scandals of collective errors and wounds. Of course, their attempts to fill information gaps are unlikely to use the words “sin” or “dignity.” They might spotlight some offenses as “systemic,” although this is a disempowering word; it implies overhauling everything and forgiving no one.

Nevertheless, news-driven inquiries into destructive behavior can bear fruit, so long as criticism isn’t weaponized to misdirect judgments or inflame hatred.

People of faith should be attentive to earnest, nonpartisan probes of current chaos. Disclosure and discussion can reveal problems and viewpoints which yield constructive action, so long as we supplement fault-finding with soul-searching. We should apply humility and compassion—not to minimize villainy, but to see patterns of dehumanization we all need to weed out.

Think back to social disruptions where political polarization has exploded. We often squander opportunities to use our democratic institutions and information channels beneficially—to see reality from different perspectives, to build consensus, to maintain alert and empowered consciences.

Social bonds in America’s public square have been eroded by such havoc as the Covid pandemic, cases of government overreach and fraud, outbreaks of warfare and lawfare, and movements to censor or censure “offensive” voices. The bonds must be rebuilt, with occasional help from daily headlines.

Recall that matters of individual conscience were raised explicitly during Covid-era layoffs. This sensibility still stands out in some coverage discussing justice and ethics in war. And stories from the ongoing “Epstein files” investigation have gained prominence partly because of grievous stains on the national conscience.

In one February podcast, secular journalists Ezra Klein and Anand Giridharadas discussed at length their impressions from the federal documents probing the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The reporters gave partisan perspectives but also shared incisive reflections on human nature. They wondered: What could explain such a large, long-enduring group of “elites” who had clustered quietly around Epstein’s strange mystique before his death in 2019?

As details of his activities and contacts have emerged, media have compiled stories about accidental newsmakers who surfaced in a range of American institutions and professions. They were said to be blithely trading favors in Epstein’s orbit despite ongoing investigations of his practices.

If I Only Had the Nerve

No doubt, plenty of conscientious individuals steered clear of association with Epstein, especially when serious violations of human dignity were at stake. But others, in varied circumstances and time periods, pursued desires for power, money, pleasure, recognition, transactional ties, and secrecy, according to Klein and Giridharadas. They posited a diagnosis of toxic “network dynamics” among this latter group.

Giridharadas suggested that, for influential participants in the Epstein matrix, “power really consists in your position and your number of connections”—going to the same conferences, for example, and enjoying similar privileges.

“Courage becomes harder,” he concluded, in structures where connections are cobbled together to retain power. Some who relied on seductive but fragile relationships might have decided not to risk their status by revealing embarrassing secrets or balking at dehumanizing behavior.

Giridharadas has since written a Substack series titled “The Epstein Class,” further analyzing how cowardice can hide behind influence. He began his report with wary words: “With great power comes great obscurity.”

If democracy can die in darkness, the moral use of power can slacken in obscurity. This should make us ponder the pressing need for transparency to oneself and others (and God). We know that only vibrant relationships are a fertile soil for trust and constructive influence.

Transparency is another word for manifesting truthfulness, one of Lent’s luminous goals. Magis AI, in another digital consultation, notes that the Lenten summons to examine our consciences is actually phase two of our quest for virtue and authenticity. Job One is to establish clear benchmarks for honest answers we give on those exams.

“Conscience is understood as an interior awareness or judgment that directs a person to do good and avoid evil, based on the general perception of moral truth written by God in the human heart,” says the Magis resource.

The journey toward this moral alertness begins with the work which Pope Leo prescribed to the media executives: actually “forming consciences.”

In a different message to the media earlier this month, Pope Leo said conscientious journalism should help “unite the different parts” of society. He urged exchanging “free and respectful information that upholds human dignity.”

Again, the pontiff implied that sharing such wisdom is the duty of all people, journalists and news consumers alike. Without settling for generalizations and polarized talking points, we must become good communicators—truth-seeking teachers and learners, caring questioners and interlocutors.

Formation and Information—What For?

Magis AI describes the challenge this way: “The formation and informing of conscience in Catholic teaching is a deeply spiritual, intellectual, and moral process grounded both in natural law inscribed in human hearts and in divine revelation.”

Well-grounded values are crucial because one’s conscience “can be mistaken if not properly informed.”

Indeed, we should avoid mistakes because it is also a sin  to “act against a well-formed conscience.” This responsibility to our human soul undergirds the concept of conscientious objection; the principle, properly referenced when reflecting on various controversies, from pandemic rules to military policies, is too easily dismissed. The world will serve up more events where consciences must be liberated to speak wisely.

In any case, conscience formation requires rigor, including intellectual efforts—such as receptivity to accurate, newsworthy revelations and debates, plus knowledge of the details behind crucial trends with ramifications for civilization itself.

The rigor also entails habits of the heart: honesty and humility, as well as bold curiosity about the unique meaning, mystery, and potential of humanity writ large. Klein and Giridharadas might agree, in their secular reportage, that we need the courage to seek happiness through enlightened relationships, not utilitarian networks.

One doesn’t need religion to muster courageous engagement, but the two go together. Media visionary Marshall McLuhan once observed, “You come to faith by prayer and paying attention.”

No Passengers on Spaceship Earth, Only Crew*

Therefore, we have a year-round task which is secular and spiritual, highlighted by Lent: preparation which enables self-correction, or ongoing conversion. Here are some takeaway suggestions.

• Place a high value on one’s conscience as a living, growing thing, not a mere checklist. Keep forming it, informing it, examining it, and using it. Let it enrich diverse people and inspire them toward common grounds of reality. Don’t “light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket.” (Matthew 5:15)
• Keep our institutions nimble and stabilized by moral vigor, in order to make democracy sustainable and preserve humanity’s distinctive gifts. That’s the writing on the wall at the Jefferson Memorial: As our minds discover new truths and form new opinions, “institutions must advance also to keep pace with the times.” Remember, responsiveness in an institution or individual does not mean always answering “yes.”
• Cherish authentic relationships that remind us of responsibilities to each other. Remember that human beings have a special, even mysterious, connection to each other—learning from our similarities and differences, pleasures and pains. Don’t accept membership in man-made swamps bogged down in sameness or self-perpetuation.
• Have the courage to be a detective who identifies the defective, to avoid swimming toward the waterfall. As renowned writer G.K. Chesterton said, “A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.” Address faults and disputes with charity, grace, hope, and forgiveness. Highlighting others’ flaws only to declare one’s own correctness is not courage, but cowardice; it could stop everyone swimming safely to shore.
• Embrace humanity as an individual member of a global community that often performs well despite its flaws. In countless human families, transparency is a treasure; everyone is stronger because we instinctively detect scheming for pride and power, tendencies toward isolation and secrecy, or traits which dehumanize and marginalize. Transparency also helps family members sort out personal and group identity, both of which are crucial for life’s meaning and purpose.

These formidable steps of preparation may suggest that old approaches to examinations of conscience are no longer sufficient, that “this is not your father’s Lent.” But deep down, we realize this has been and always will be our Father’s Lent. God wills that the dignity of relating to Christ in his suffering, death, and resurrection warrants constant renewal of a person’s mind and heart.

Today’s fast-paced world also poses imminent questions about humanity’s choices between what’s actual and what’s artificial. The “hyperreality” displayed in shallow, cheapened media must not make us blur distinctions, become indifferent, or slow our reaction time.

New ideas about UAPs leading to encounters with alien species—or super-AI mimicking and manipulating relationships—might be among the non-human developments that will require us collectively to put our best foot forward.

We should be grateful for heightened, galvanizing awareness during this era properly called an “age of disclosure.” Thanks to Lent, we can pause to see that the really crucial discoveries must happen within us.

Image from Microsoft Bing’s Co-Pilot graphic design. *Quote from Marshall McLuhan.