Pope Leo XIV spoke out against the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the preparation of homilies. He made this statement during a meeting with the clergy of the Roman diocese.
As he noted, sermons should be a matter of careful reflection, not the work of neural networks.
«All muscles of the body, if we do not use them, they die. The brain must also be exercised, so our intellect needs some practice,» the pontiff said.
The Pope emphasized that no chatbot can replace a living priest, because faith cannot be spread via algorithms.
«A sermon is the transmission of faith. AI can never share faith,» he said.
The Pope also spoke about social media, reminding the clergy that likes and followers should not be mistaken for genuine spiritual connections.
However, the Vatican is already using AI for other purposes. For example, the Church has recently launched a system for conducting religious services in 60 languages, helping pilgrims understand them in real time.
In Kazakhstan, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kazakhstan (DUMK) plans to launch a virtual AI imam, explaining that introducing new technology in the religious sphere is a response to modern challenges. The muftiyat hopes the Imam AI mobile app will reduce imams’ workload, as believers will be able to receive the necessary responses through the app.
