Global leaders to gather in Rome to shape the future of human-centred healthcare

Senior healthcare, technology, academic, policy and faith leaders from around the world will gather in Rome next month for the inaugural Faith-Health Leadership Dialogue, an international forum established to explore how the next generation of healthcare can be both technologically enabled while remaining deeply human.

Held in collaboration with Vatican leaders and hosted across several locations in Rome and Vatican City, the Dialogue will bring together a select group of influential decision-makers to examine how advances in artificial intelligence (AI), biomedical science, digital connectivity and emerging models of care can improve health outcomes while strengthening human dignity, equity and compassion.

The three-day gathering (4-6 November) – which will be held under the Chatham House Rule – comes at a time when health systems worldwide are grappling with the opportunities in AI and digital technology alongside ageing populations, workforce shortages, rising costs, chronic disease, and growing inequities in access to care.

Convened by St Bartholomew’s Hospital London, US healthcare provider, Ascension, and Australian health and aged care provider, St Vincent’s Health Australia, the Dialogue will bring together leaders from some of the world’s most influential healthcare institutions, universities, technology organisations and faith-based ministries for a candid exchange focused on practical collaboration and action.

The event is designed not as a conference, policy summit or advocacy forum. The Dialogue has been designed to create an opportunity for participants to speak in a personal capacity rather than as representatives of institutions; where participants can move beyond organisational positions to engage more deeply with the opportunities, tensions and uncertainties facing healthcare today.

Quotes attributable to The Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia

“We are at the dawn of a new age, one brimming with possibility and pitfall alike – and it is crucial that we seize the opportunity before us right now to get it right. It is especially timely that you are looking into the great potential that AI offers in health care – and with it, the need to ensure that it remains grounded in compassion and equity.

“The real issues AI presents are not just technical, they are economic, legal, and social. And, as his Holiness, Pope Leo XIV, so luminously made clear in his first Papal Encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, they are also moral and spiritual.”

Quotes attributable to His Eminence, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Dean Emeritus of the College of Cardinals

“At this moment of profound transformation in medicine, digital technology and artificial intelligence, initiatives such as this provide an important opportunity for reflection on how scientific and technological progress may remain firmly at the service of the dignity of the human person and the authentic good of society.

“In a world where new capabilities risk deepening exclusion if left without moral direction, it is essential that innovation be accompanied by wisdom, stewardship, and a renewed attentiveness to the whole person – body, mind and spirit.”

Quotes attributable to Chris Blake, Group CEO, St Vincent’s Health Australia

“Healthcare will change more in the next five to 10 years than in the last 100. Advances in artificial intelligence, digital care and biomedical science have the potential to transform lives in genuinely exciting ways, but they also raise profound questions about equity, trust, dignity and what it means to care.

“The Faith-Health Leadership Dialogue recognises that no single sector can answer these questions alone. We need healthcare leaders, technologists, policymakers, academics and faith leaders working together to shape a future that is both innovative and human.”

Quotes attributable to Prof Charles Knight, CEO of St Bartholomew’s Hospital, Barts Health NHS Trust, London

“Many of the most important questions facing healthcare today are not simply technical. They are questions about justice, participation, dignity and the common good.

“This Dialogue brings together leaders who have the ability to influence healthcare systems, technology development and public policy. The opportunity is not simply to discuss the future, but to help shape it.”

Quotes attributable to Mrs Tori Thompson, National Vice President of National Imaging Services at Ascension

“Healthcare’s greatest challenges will not be solved by technology alone. They will be solved when innovation, clinical expertise and a deep understanding of patients’ needs come together to create more accessible, connected and equitable care.”

“Innovation can be one of the greatest forces for improving health outcomes, but only if it is designed with fairness and the human spirit in mind from the outset.”