Catholic leaders warn that artificial intelligence poses a dual threat to the faithful: eroding personal spiritual formation while excluding religious voices from governance decisions. The Vatican has launched initiatives like the Rome Call for AI Ethics, while bishops caution against replacing authentic discernment with chatbots and warn that EU frameworks risk marginalizing faith-based perspectives in high-risk AI oversight. Pope Leo XIV recently urged priests to resist AI-generated homilies, and European church delegates stress that value-based stakeholders must participate in shaping technology’s future to preserve moral agency and prevent commercial interests from dominating ethical standards.
While artificial intelligence promises to transform how people work, learn, and communicate, Catholic leaders are raising concerns that the technology could reshape something more fundamental: the faithful’s relationship with truth, community, and God himself. The Vatican frames AI as a legitimate tool when used responsibly, but warns its real danger lies not in technical risks but in how it might alter human identity, cognition, and moral agency.
AI’s true danger isn’t technical failure but its potential to fundamentally alter human identity, cognition, and moral agency.
Pope Leo XIV, named after a historical figure who confronted industrial revolution challenges, convened a closed-door meeting urging priests to resist using AI for drafting homilies. In a December 5 statement, he warned that AI raises concerns for humanity’s openness to truth, beauty, and contemplation. His January 24 message stressed safeguarding against technology that exploits people’s need for relationships, potentially damaging social, cultural, and political fabric.
Clergy across the Church have echoed these concerns. Bishop Erik Varden notes that young people yearn for trustworthy teachers who impart wisdom, not chatbots. Bishop Paul Hendricks finds the prospect of replacing God with AI troubling, describing it as a less demanding relationship. The lead bishop for AI at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference highlighted the temptation of easy bonds with artificial companions.
Official Vatican documents emphasize risks to consciousness, emotional dependence, and the erosion of meaning as AI increasingly mediates thought, emotion, and decision-making. Reports in 2025 described chatbot-induced spiritual awakenings that harmed real-life relationships, underscoring fears about outsourcing moral reflection to machines instead of community.
Beyond spiritual concerns, Catholic leaders warn they risk exclusion from AI governance dominated by technical and commercial interests. At a Brussels dialogue, COMECE representatives cautioned that without religious stakeholder engagement, faith-based voices face marginalization. Friederike Ladenburger noted particular risks when guidance is shaped by non-value-based actors, especially for high-risk AI systems lacking clear EU guidelines.
The Vatican has launched ethical initiatives including the Rome Call for AI Ethics and documents from the Pontifical Academy for Life. Michael Baggot and other Catholic voices now urge the faithful to become AI developers and ethical contributors, ensuring value-based approaches shape the technology’s future. The Church also encourages seeking the Holy Spirit’s guidance in discernment and community accountability to preserve spiritual formation and moral agency Holy Spirit.
