Pope Leo says priests should start using their brains, not chatGPT, to write sermons
Pope Leo XIV has warned priests in Rome not to use AI tools to write their sermons or chase “likes” on social media. Instead, he urged them to use their brains and speak from genuine belief and lived experience, rather than trusting machines to do it for them.
AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini are helping everyone in their workday, be it writers, coders or researchers. And it turns out that priests have also started turning to AI for help drafting their sermons. But the increasing reliance on intelligent machine systems is now raising concerns in Vatican City. In a recent closed-door meeting with clergy from the Diocese of Rome, Pope Leo XIV urged priests not to rely on AI tools, and instead use their brains to prepare their sermons. He also asked creators to avoid chasing “likes” on TikTok.
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The Pope recently addressed concerns about the use of artificial intelligence and the presence of priests on social media during a question-and-answer session with the Roman clergy on February 19. During the discussion, he talked about “the temptation to prepare sermons with artificial intelligence”, as reported by Vatican media.
He compared sermon writing to physical exercise, telling priests that just as muscles become weak without use, so too does the human intellect when not actively engaged.
For those unfamiliar, a sermon is a talk on a religious or moral topic, usually based on a Bible passage, delivered by priests during a church service. Pope Leo 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 intellect also needs to be exercised a little so as not to lose this capacity,” Pope Leo said, reported Vatican News.
The Pope stressed that when writing sermons, priests need to rely on their intellect and spiritual reflection rather than delegating the responsibility to machines.
According to Pope Leo, using AI to draft sermons risks losing authenticity. “True preaching is sharing the faith,” he said, adding that artificial intelligence “will never be able to share the faith.”
Furthermore, the Pope also cautioned priests against equating digital engagement with actual pastoral success. Specifically referring to social media platforms like TikTok, he described the search for “likes” and “followers” as an “illusion”. He warned priests that their online popularity should not be confused with authentic spiritual influence.
The warning from Vatican City comes at a time when AI is being seen as capable of taking over human tasks. With AI tools now being used to write everything from articles and speeches, Pope Leo has made it clear that priests should not refer to it for the work of faith. He suggested that although machines may be able to generate words, they cannot generate faith or genuine spiritual experience.