Cardinal Tagle says Catholic homilies must come from faith, not AI
By CBCP News
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle on Wednesday cautioned against relying on artificial intelligence to prepare Catholic homilies and spiritual reflections, saying preaching must flow from personal faith and an encounter with Jesus.
Preaching during Mass for the 75th anniversary of the Diocese of Legazpi, he described AI-generated preaching as only a reorganization of existing information rather than a personal testimony of faith.
“If it does not come from the heart, that is not a homily,” Tagle, dean of the College of Cardinals, said before a congregation of more than 6,000 people gathered in and outside the St. Gregory the Great Cathedral in Legazpi City.
He described AI-generated preaching as only a reorganization of existing information rather than a personal testimony of faith, stressing that evangelization requires people to share their own experience of Christ.
“That is just a restructuring of data put into a database. And that’s not faith,” said Tagle, who is also the pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.
His remarks echo Pope Leo XIV, who has urged priests to resist using artificial intelligence to write homilies, saying it cannot replace the personal sharing of faith.
During a dialogue with the clergy of Rome on Feb. 19, 2026, Leo warned priests against relying on AI to prepare their preaching.
“Like all the muscles in the body, if we do not use them, if we do not move them, they die,” the pope said, stressing that priests must exercise their own intelligence rather than allow technology to do the work for them.
“To give a true homily is to share faith,” Leo said, adding that artificial intelligence “will never be able to share faith.”
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