'Resist the temptation': Pope Leo XIV warns priests against chatbot-written sermons

Pope Leo XIV has delivered a pointed message to Catholic clergy: artificial intelligence has no place in the pulpit. Speaking during a closed-door meeting with priests from the Diocese of Rome on February 19, the Chicago-born pontiff urged them to resist what he called the “temptation” to use AI tools to write their homilies.

Details of the question-and-answer session were released the following day and reported by Vatican News.During the exchange, Pope Leo XIV told priests that preaching is not a technical exercise but an act of faith-sharing. “Giving a homily is to share faith,” he said, before adding that artificial intelligence “will never be able to share faith.”He warned that neglecting personal reflection and intellectual effort comes at a cost.

“Like all the muscles in the body, if we do not use them, if we do not move them, they die,” he said. “The brain needs to be used, so our intelligence must also be exercised a little so as not to lose this capacity.”According to Vatican News, he also encouraged priests to “rekindle the fire” of their ministry through prayer and reflection rather than outsourcing Sunday sermons to chatbots. Attendees described the tone as direct, including his call to “use your brains more.”

The remarks fit into a broader pattern. Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly addressed the ethical risks of artificial intelligence, warning that unchecked technological development could threaten human dignity, justice, and labor. Explaining his choice of papal name, he invoked Pope Leo XIII and the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which tackled social upheaval during the first industrial revolution.“There were many reasons, but mainly Pope Leo XIII, who, in his historic encyclical Rerum Novarum, addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution,” Leo said last year, according to Vatican News. “In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution, and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, of justice and of labor.”He has even dismissed the idea of an “AI Pope” that could answer believers’ questions, describing such a concept as no substitute for a real spiritual leader.

The pope also used the Rome meeting to caution priests about confusing digital popularity with pastoral impact. He warned against chasing “likes” and “followers” through what he called an “illusion on the internet, on TikTok,” urging clergy to remain grounded in parish life.At the same time, Catholic engagement online has grown. After years of decline, Catholic identification in the United States has reportedly stabilised, with some attributing part of that shift to so-called “celebrity priests” on social media.

One example is Father David Michael, who has more than 1.2 million Instagram followers, where he shares light-hearted videos about priestly life and answers questions about the Church.Pope Leo XIV himself maintains a social media presence, using it to circulate pastoral reflections, including a Lenten appeal to “fast” from hurtful words online. But he has drawn a firm line between digital tools as communication channels and as replacements for spiritual work.Beyond church life, the pontiff has not shied away from political commentary, particularly in his native United States. He has criticized aspects of immigration enforcement and called for calmer diplomacy amid international tensions. In February 2025, before becoming pope, he said Vice President JD Vance was “wrong” to suggest that Christian teachings underpinned restrictive immigration priorities.Vance had told Fox News that people should “love your family and, then, to love your neighbor,” adding that governments should “prioritize the rest of the world” only after that. Leo responded: “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” He has also met political figures across party lines, including Marco Rubio, framing those engagements as part of maintaining dialogue even amid disagreement.