(Vatican News) ─ Pope Leo XIV approved the creation of the Holy See’s Commission on Artificial Intelligence, announced on May 16th. The papal bull was signed by Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Holy See, who promotes holistic human development.
The document, dated May 12, said the pope approved the creation of the commission taking into account “the development of the phenomenon of artificial intelligence in recent decades, the recent acceleration in its spread, its potential impact on humanity and humanity as a whole, and the Church’s concern for the dignity of every human being, especially in relation to the integral development of the human person.”
Pope Leo approved the creation of the Holy See after an audience with Cardinal Cerny on May 3. The Department for the Promotion of Integrated Human Development will coordinate the activities of the committee during the first year.
The Decree explains that the commission is made up of representatives from seven Vatican institutions: the Diplomatic Office for the Promotion of Human Development, the Office for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Office for Culture and Education, the Office for Communication, the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.
Each of these bodies will take turns coordinating the committee for a renewable one-year term. The Pope will then decide on the next body to lead the commission’s work.
The document explains that it is the responsibility of the coordinating body to “facilitate cooperation and exchange of information among group members on activities and projects related to artificial intelligence, including policies on the use of artificial intelligence within the Holy See, while promoting dialogue, exchange and participation.”
Cardinal Czerny established this body under Article 28 of the Apostolic Constitution, Evangelizing Priests, which allows the heads of dioceses to establish special interdiocesan commissions to deal with matters that involve the responsibilities of more than one diocese or that require “mutual and frequent consultation.”
This is not the first time that national governments have worked together to address this issue. In January 2025, the Holy See of the Faith and the Ministry of Culture and Education published the doctrinal note “Antiqua et Nova” (“Old and New”) on the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence.
Moreover, this theme has been present throughout the reign of Pope Leo XIV, and he has frequently spoken about advances in artificial intelligence and other technologies and the challenges they may pose to our society.
As early as May 10, 2025, just days after his election, the Pope explained in a meeting with cardinals that his choice of name was inspired by Pope Leo XIII, who addressed the problems brought about by the Industrial Revolution in his encyclical Rerum Novarum.
He further emphasized that “in our time, the Church is offering the treasures of her social teachings to everyone in response to the new industrial revolution and developments in the field of artificial intelligence, which pose new challenges to safeguard human dignity, justice and work.”
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This article was originally published by Vatican News and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.
