{"id":492534,"date":"2026-02-22T18:47:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T18:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/492534\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T18:47:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T18:47:13","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-tells-priests-not-to-use-ai-to-write-homilies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/492534\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV tells priests not to use AI to write homilies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t345<\/p>\n

(OSV News) \u2014\u00a0Pope Leo XIV has urged priests to not to use artificial intelligence to write their homilies or to seek \u201clikes\u201d on social media platforms like TikTok.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a question-and-answer session with clergy from the Diocese of Rome, the pope said priests should resist \u201cthe temptation to prepare homilies with artificial intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLike all the muscles in the body, if we do not use them, if we do not move them, they die. The brain needs to be used, so our intelligence must also be exercised a little so as not to lose this capacity,\u201d Pope Leo said in the closed door meeting, according to a report by Vatican News<\/a> on Feb. 20.<\/p>\n

AI cannot \u2018share faith\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cTo give a true homily is to share faith,\u201d and artificial intelligence \u201cwill never be able to share faith,\u201d the pope added.<\/p>\n

Pope Leo has expressed interest in the topic of artificial intelligence and the dignity of work since the first week of his pontificate, telling the College of Cardinals shortly after his election last May that he took his name in honor<\/a> of Pope Leo XIII, who wrote the social encyclical \u201cRerum Novarum\u201d in the context of the first industrial revolution.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can offer a service that is inculturated in the place, in the parish where we are working,\u201d the pope told the priests of the Diocese of Rome. \u201cPeople want to see your faith, your experience of having known and loved Jesus Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t seek \u2018likes\u2019 on TikTok<\/p>\n

In his meeting with the clergy of Rome, Pope Leo underlined that with a \u201clife authentically rooted in the Lord,\u201d one can offer something different, calling it \u201can illusion on the internet, on TikTok,\u201d to think one is offering oneself and gaining \u2018likes\u2019 and \u2018followers\u2019 in that way.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not you: if we are not transmitting the message of Jesus Christ, perhaps we are mistaken, and we must reflect very carefully and humbly about who we are and what we are doing,\u201d the pope emphasized.<\/p>\n

He underlined that for a priest \u201ca life of prayer\u201d is fundamental, adding that this means \u201ctime spent with the Lord,\u201d not \u201cthe routine of reciting the breviary as quickly as possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pope Leo\u2019s advice for young priests<\/p>\n

The pope\u2019s Feb. 19 closed-door dialogue with clergy of the Rome Diocese was introduced by Cardinal Baldo Reina<\/a>, vicar general of Rome, who presented four priests \u2014 representing four age groups \u2014 who were selected to ask the pope a question.<\/p>\n

Among them was a young priest ordained by Pope Leo last May. He asked how young priests can support their peers in today\u2019s world.<\/p>\n

The pope first urged them to keep their \u201ceyes open\u201d to the families from which many young people come from, which often have been through \u201cvery serious crises,\u201d with absent parents or parents who are \u201cdivorced, remarried.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many young people \u201chave also experienced abandonment,\u201d so priests must \u201cknow their reality,\u201d the pope continued. \u201cBe close to them in this sense, accompany them, but do not be just one of the young,\u201d he said, adding that in this regard, \u201cthe testimony of the priest\u201d is important, as it offers \u201ca model of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seek initiatives as outreach<\/p>\n

The pope also asked priests not to be satisfied with just the young people who continue to come to the parish: \u201cWe must organize, think, seek initiatives that can be a form of outreach.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must go ourselves, we must invite other young people, go out into the streets with them; perhaps offer different ways,\u201d activities such as sports, art and culture, he insisted.<\/p>\n

\"\"The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company\u2019s U.S. head office in Culver City, Calif., Sept. 15, 2020. (OSV News photo\/Mike Blake, Reuters)<\/p>\n

Getting to know others is the key element, according to Pope Leo, and knowledge comes through \u201ca human experience of friendship\u201d with young people who \u201clive in isolation, in incredible loneliness.\u201d<\/p>\n

An increasing loneliness<\/p>\n

He highlighted how this loneliness has increased after the pandemic especially, in part because of the use of smartphones. \u201cThey live a kind of distance from others, a coldness, without knowing the richness, the value of truly human relationships,\u201d the pope explained.<\/p>\n

Therefore, he continued, we must understand how to offer young people \u201canother type of experience of friendship, of sharing, and gradually of communion,\u201d and from that experience \u201cinvite them also to know Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pope Leo emphasized that this requires \u201ctime\u201d and \u201csacrifice,\u201d considering also that many young people today are trapped in \u201ca terrible life\u201d of drugs, crime and violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Priestly fraternity in Chicago<\/p>\n

Pope Leo encouraged priests to nurture true friendships with one another and to resist the temptation of \u201cinvidia clericalis,\u201d or clerical envy.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us not be afraid to knock on another\u2019s door, to take the initiative, to say to companions or a group of friends: why don\u2019t we meet from time to time to study together, reflect together, have a moment of prayer and then a good lunch? The parish priest with the best cook can invite the others,\u201d Pope Leo said.<\/p>\n

He recalled a \u201cbeautiful\u201d example of priestly fraternity in Chicago, his hometown, where a group of priests decided to meet once a month, starting when they were still in the seminary. Some continued until they were over 90 years old and they would gather, pray and study.<\/p>\n

Bearing witness to life amid euthanasia<\/p>\n

During the question-and-answer session, Pope Leo also addressed the issue of euthanasia<\/a>, underlining that priests \u201cmust be the first to bear witness to the fact that life has enormous value.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we ourselves are so negative about our life, and sometimes with less suffering than that borne by many people, how can we say to them: \u2018No, you cannot take your life, you must accept it\u2019?\u201d the pope asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf one lives one\u2019s whole life as a journey that takes us forward, even with the weight of the years, often also \u2014 whether young or old \u2014 with illnesses and difficulties, one will have the ability, with God\u2019s grace, to accept the cross, the suffering that comes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bringing Communion to the sick<\/p>\n

The pope also urged priests to bring Communion and the anointing of the sick to parishioners who are ill.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, with fewer priests and more elderly, it has become: \u2018Well, let\u2019s send the lay people, they will do it,’\u201d he said. \u201cIt is a beautiful service that lay people provide \u2026 but that does not mean that the priest can stay at home watching things on the internet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her on X @catholicourtney. Contributing to this story was Salvatore Cernuzio of Vatican News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"345 (OSV News) \u2014\u00a0Pope Leo XIV has urged priests to not to use artificial intelligence to write their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492535,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[62,276,277,49,48,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-492534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-canada","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}