Asian Church urged to humanize AI and support digital missionaries

Vatican News

The Church in Asia is being urged to place human dignity at the heart of artificial intelligence and give young digital missionaries greater recognition, formation, and support.

According to Radio Veritas Asia, the appeals came at the annual assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences Office of Social Communication (FABC-OSC), taking place in Macau from October 27 to 31.

Participants gathered under the theme “Magnifica humanitas and the Synodal Ways of Evangelization in Asia: Communicating Christ in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”

The face behind the screen

Addressing the assembly on October 29, Bishop Marcelino Antonio Maralit Jr., chairman of FABC-OSC, called for digital transformation that safeguards human relationships. For millions across Asia, he noted, their first encounter with the Church may take place through a screen.

“Behind every screen in Asia, there is a face,” he said.

He described the digital world as “the main square, the Areopagus of our time,” while acknowledging the divide between connected communities and those still without access.

Recalling Pope Leo XIV, he emphasized that AI’s deepest challenge concerns what it means to be human.

Bishop Maralit warned of human trafficking in cyber-scam operations, online child exploitation, surveillance, and deepfakes.

He urged clergy never to present AI-generated homilies as their own or entrust spiritual accompaniment to algorithms.

His proposals included formation, transparency, data privacy, and solidarity with marginalized workers whose labor sustains digital technologies.

Protecting the vulnerable

The human costs of technological development also featured in the keynote address by Dr. Levi Checketts of Hong Kong Baptist University.

He drew attention to environmental damage from mining and electronic waste, alongside poorly paid, psychologically demanding data work.

He challenged approaches that treat aging, vulnerability, and human limitations as defects technology must eliminate.

Professor Leo-Martin Angelo R. Ocampo, a lay Dominican from Manila’s University of Santo Tomas, approached discernment through the contrast between Babel and Jerusalem.

Technology can advance pride and control, he explained, or help rebuild relationships and ensure everyone has a place. Algorithms reflect human priorities, making ethical responsibility indispensable.

Rooted in prayer and encounter

At the opening Mass on October 28, Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang of Macau recalled that Jesus chose people with their own histories and limitations. Communicating the Gospel, he stressed, requires humility, prayer, and attention to suffering.

“Listening before speaking, accompanying before judging,” he urged.

Bishop Malcolm Sequeira of Amravati, India, likewise encouraged communicators to remain rooted in Christ as they navigate technological change.

Drawing on Saint Paul’s call to put on God’s armor, he warned against making AI their source of security. “Be assured. Be fearless. Do not panic,” he said.

Making space for digital missionaries

That emphasis on accompaniment found expression in the presentation by Gethsemani Cindy Gorospe, Social Communication Coordinator at Radio Veritas Asia, on October 29.

She shared the experience of the First Asian Catholic Digital Missionaries Assembly, which brought together more than 100 creators from 17 Asian countries in Manila from September 10 to 13.

“There is an urgent call for Church integration,” she said, asking local Churches and Bishops’ Conferences to listen to young content creators and provide opportunities to participate in pastoral life.

Young creators seek direct contact with bishops for spiritual discernment, canonical guidance, and pastoral protection, she explained. They need closer ties with local Church leadership and structures that sustain their work and respond to its pressures.

Ms. Gorospe highlighted isolation, mental fatigue, and political risks faced by digital missionaries.

She proposed a dedicated FABC-OSC committee and formation combining theology, spiritual resilience, and communication skills.

Looking toward World Youth Day 2027 in Seoul, she urged leaders to recognize young communicators as co-workers in evangelization.

Beyond the screen

Dr. Victor Lam, an adviser to the Diocese of Hong Kong on catechism and information technology, called for the “wisdom of the heart” to guide this mission.

Digital encounters, he said, should lead toward lasting human relationships and participation in the Church’s sacramental life.

His priorities included helping young people use technology responsibly and freely, strengthening personal relationships, and directing innovation toward justice, peace, and the common good.

Dr. Lam encouraged digital missionaries to look beyond popularity and make evangelization their priority.