Pope Leo xiv is taking strong action to control artificial intelligence.

According to an Axios report on April 24, the Roman Catholic Church is deeply worried about AI fake news. The Vatican is moving faster than most governments to set rules for this powerful new technology.

As realistic-looking photos and videos of events that never happened proliferate on the Internet thanks to AI tools anyone can use, church leaders warn of a growing “crisis of truth.” To fight back, the Vatican has:

• Increased partnerships in cybersecurity, mixing technology with moral teaching and diplomacy
• Established formal AI rules and monitoring systems inside the sovereign nation of Vatican City
• Stressed that AI must always put humans first and never replace people or harm human dignity

In February, Leo told priests not to use AI to write their sermons, saying, “AI will never be able to share real faith.” He said that priests must use their own minds and personal experiences with God.

On May 10, 2025, in a meeting with the College of Cardinals, the newly elected pope said he chose the name Leo xiv because of Pope Leo xiii, who wrote the famous encyclical Rerum Novarum (Of New Things) in 1891 to deal with problems from the Industrial Revolution. Now, Pope Leo xiv says the church must use its social teaching to face “another industrial revolution” caused by artificial intelligence, and it must defend human dignity, justice and labor in this new age.

Rerum Novarum advocated a so-called third way between the free market and socialism. In practice, however, it is just an updated version of the old medieval feudal system, with the church guiding society. Rerum Novarum shows the world how to understand the goals of the current Leo.

The Vatican cannot stop AI, but it is working to shape and control it to once again increase the power of Catholicism over peoples, governments and nations. This church has a long history of positioning itself as the guide for the world’s new technologies.