Bottom line: The Catholic Church institutionalizes its AI governance through a new Vatican commission, underscoring its role as an ethical actor in technology policy.
Pope Leo XIV has established a Commission for Artificial Intelligence to coordinate the Catholic Church’s response to AI developments. The decision coincides with a new papal encyclical that is to be devoted to an ethics-centered approach to technology.
The Vatican announced on Saturday that Pope Leo XIV has established the Commission to respond to the “rapid growth of AI, its possible impacts on people and humanity as a whole, and the Church’s concern for the dignity of every person.” The establishment follows immediately upon the Pope’s signing of a new encyclical – a letter written by him to the bishops providing moral guidance and direction.
The coming weeks will bring public publication of the encyclical. It will place the question of AI within Church social teaching, which also addresses questions of labor, justice and peace. This is not Pope Leo’s first public stance on AI matters. Days after his election in May 2025, he told Cardinals that the Church owed the world to bring its “treasury of social teaching” to bear on the challenges posed by AI to “human dignity, justice and labor.”
In June 2025, Pope Leo warned of possible harms from growing AI dependence. While acknowledging the technology’s potential for good, he identified the risk of “misuse for personal advantage” as well as the possibility of using it to “incite conflict and aggression.”
The Pontiff gave particular attention to young people: “We are without doubt concerned about children and young people and about possible impacts that AI could have on their intellectual and neurological development. Our youth must be supported and not hindered on their path to maturity and genuine responsibility.”
Source: ainews-dev.lumi-systems.io · Published 17 May 2026
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