Pope Leo XIV Warns Priests Against ChatGPT Sermons and TikTok Fame: 'The Brain Needs to Be Used'

Pope Leo XIV doesn't want priests using ChatGPT to write their sermons.

The pontiff made the directive clear during a closed-door meeting with clergy from the Diocese of Rome on 19 February. He called AI-generated homilies a 'temptation' and compared the brain to a muscle that weakens without use. His remarks, published by Vatican News the following day, mark the first time a major religious leader has issued a direct, practical instruction on AI use in worship.

'Like all the muscles in the body, if we do not use them, if we do not move them, they die,' the Pope said. 'The brain needs to be used, so our intelligence must also be exercised a little so as not to lose this capacity.'

The Pope Who Named Himself for AI

Here's what makes this warning hit differently. When elected last May, Pope Leo XIV chose his name specifically because he saw the AI revolution coming.

He told the College of Cardinals that he picked the name to honour Pope Leo XIII, whose 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed workers' rights during the Industrial Revolution. That document became the foundation of modern Catholic social teaching, pushing back against exploitative labour practices and advocating for living wages.

'I chose to take the name Leo XIV mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution,' the Pope explained, according to OfficeChai. '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, justice and labour.'

So, when Pope Leo XIV warns against AI sermons, he's not speaking off the cuff. He picked his name to address this exact moment.

TikTok Priests and the Illusion of Influence

The AI warning wasn't the only thing the Pope had to say. He also took aim at priests who measure their ministry through social media metrics.

'It is an illusion on the internet, on TikTok, to think one is offering oneself and gaining likes and followers in that way,' the Pope said. 'If we are not transmitting the message of Jesus Christ, perhaps we are mistaken.'

He went further during the Q&A session. When discussing euthanasia, he told priests they 'must be the first to bear witness to the fact that life has enormous value,' according to the National Catholic Reporter. The comments suggest a broader framework: human dignity comes before technological convenience, whether that's an algorithm writing your sermon or metrics defining your worth.

A Paradox at the Vatican

The timing is awkward. The Vatican recently introduced an AI-powered translation system that renders liturgical texts into up to 60 languages in real time. The Pope drew a line, though. Using technology as a tool? Fine. Letting it replace human spiritual expression? Not fine.

'To give a true homily is to share faith,' Pope Leo XIV said, 'and AI will never be able to share faith.'

For the world's roughly 1.4 billion Catholics, this instruction could change how parishes approach sermon preparation. It also feeds into a growing debate that extends well beyond church walls: what parts of human life should AI never touch?

The Pope offered his clergy a way forward. Prayer. Study. Authentic human connection.

'People want to see your faith,' he said, 'your experience of having known and loved Jesus Christ.'

A chatbot can't offer that. And according to the Pope who named himself for this very moment, it never will.