The bishops have examined artificial intelligence’s role in Church ministry, with leaders emphasizing that digital tools must lead people to authentic relationships.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is calling for the use of artificial intelligence not to replace authentic human encounter but to act in service of it.
Bishops gathered Jan. 20 for the 131st CBCP Plenary Assembly took part in a seminar on AI, reflecting on the advantages and drawbacks of its use for evangelization and pastoral ministry.
The seminar, organized by the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Communications, included a presentation by its Executive Secretary Edwin Lopez, who has also served as EWTN’s longtime regional manager for Asia-Pacific and who emphasized that AI should never replace human encounter.
“Technology serves. Communion saves,” Lopez said, according to a CBCP press release. “God did not just send a message; he sent himself.”
“Evangelization must always lead people to encounter, not automation,” he added.
During his opening address, Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon, chair of the commission, stressed the Church’s need to respond to the rapidly advancing field of AI.
“We have already reached the moon and beyond. Boundaries have collapsed. COVID, while it has challenged science, pushed us into the digital world. And we face a vast new mission territory,” he said.
Alarcon also expressed his gratitude to EWTN Asia Pacific for sharing “rich media resources” and “practical wisdom” with the bishops for the AI seminar.
“This collaboration is a genuine blessing as the Episcopal Commission on Social Communications advances the responsible use of digital technology for evangelization, community-building, and formation especially with and for the Church of the poor,” he said.
“May the Lord continue to bless this collaboration and keep our digital mission always at the service of communion,” the archbishop added.
At the end of the seminar, Lopez encouraged participants to hold fast to the Church’s human-centric mission.
“We do not need more technology,” he said. “We need more humanity.”
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