Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins/Futurism. Source: Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty
In a closed-door meeting with clergy from the Diocese of Rome last weekend, Pope Leo XIV made a pointed 21st-century plea to his priests: Resist “the temptation to prepare sermons with artificial intelligence.” according to vatican news.
Pope reportedly said, “Like all the muscles of the body, if we don’t use them, if we don’t move them, they die.” “The brain needs to be used, so our intelligence should also be used a little so that this ability is not lost.”
The Holy Father drew a striking line in the sand, declaring that regardless of the capabilities of AI now or in the future, a chatbot could never stand in for a flesh-and-blood priest. “To preach is to share the faith,” he said, and AI “will never be able to share the faith.”
Apart from AI, the Pope warns his clergy against connecting social media with real life vatican news. If one lives an “authentically rooted life in God,” one is offering something special to the world, the Pope said, adding that on the Internet, a common “illusion” on TikTok is to treat followers and likes as authentic spiritual connection.
Whether you follow the Church’s teachings or not, the advice is a unique snapshot of the issues facing the Vatican in 2026. It also sits awkwardly with the Vatican’s own AI translation system, an upcoming program that will translate religious texts in 60 languages in real time.
that tool was declared On the same day as the Pope’s meeting with the clergy – although this could be seen as a logical step in the centuries-old struggle to express the Bible’s teachings in the common language of the people (a major criticism of Martin LutherIf you want to get all the historical.)
Somehow, for an institution that has championed technological progress for nearly two millennia, the Vatican seems eager to define its line on AI.
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