1. Magnifica Humanitas: Pope Leo XIV, AI, and Pastoral Leadership

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• Audience: Clergy, pastoral leaders, diocesan staff, Catholic educators, parish teams, theologians, ministry formation programs, and Church leaders discerning the pastoral and ethical implications of artificial intelligence.

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• Description: This presentation introduces Pope Leo XIV’s timely encyclical Magnifica Humanitas and its significance for pastoral leadership and ministry in the Age of AI. It begins by situating AI within the life of the Church today, clarifying key terms and concerns that often shape contemporary conversations. From there, the session turns to the encyclical’s major themes, including human dignity, formation, truth, and the common good, and explores how these themes can guide pastoral discernment, decision-making, and formation in parish, school, diocesan, and ministry settings. Framed by Catholic faith and ministry, the presentation invites participants to engage AI neither with fear nor uncritical enthusiasm, but with prudence, hope, and renewed attention to the human, relational, and spiritual dimensions of pastoral life.

 

2. AI and Liturgy: Eight Exploratory Trajectories

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• Audience: Liturgical ministers, music directors, worship leaders, liturgy committees, and diocesan liturgy offices

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• Description: This session offers a theological, aesthetic, and pastoral exploration of how artificial intelligence is already intersecting with Christian worship and where it may be leading liturgical practice. Drawing on eight exploratory trajectories, the presentation moves from AI’s current use in generating texts, art, and music for worship to broader questions concerning culture, ecology, embodiment, and sacramentality. Rather than proposing prescriptions or predictions, the session invites liturgical theologians, ministers, and pastoral leaders to engage AI critically and creatively, discerning how emerging technologies might reshape participation, presence, creativity, and meaning in worship. Framed by the Church’s liturgical tradition and attentiveness to human embodiment and communal ritual, the session explores how AI may function not simply as a tool, but as a theological frontier—one that challenges worshiping communities to hold ancient practices and emerging technologies in thoughtful, faithful tension. Originally presented at the North American Academy of Liturgy, January 2025. 

 

3. Preaching in a Time of Generative AI

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• Audience: Preachers (priests, deacons, seminarians), homiletics faculty, and preaching formation programs

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• Description: This session explores how preachers can engage artificial intelligence thoughtfully and faithfully in the preparation and proclamation of the Word. Situating AI within the long history of preaching and evolving forms of communication, the presentation focuses on how generative AI can support—without replacing—the spiritual, pastoral, and formational work of the preacher. Drawing on concrete examples, it examines how AI may assist with study, contextual awareness, clarity of expression, and pastoral communication, while emphasizing the necessity of prayer, discernment, and personal encounter. Framed by a theology of preaching rooted in the liturgy and the life of the assembly, the session invites preachers to form habits of prudence and responsibility, ensuring that technology serves the proclamation of the Gospel rather than eclipsing the human voice through which the Spirit speaks. Originally presented at Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, in 2023.

 

4. Faithful Presence: Formation for Priestly Life in the Age of AI

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• Audience: Seminarians, formators, seminary faculty, and vocation directors

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• Description: This session is designed for those in priestly formation who are learning to inhabit ministry in a Church increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Beginning with a clear primer on what AI is and how it has developed, the presentation pays particular attention to the growing use of AI in writing, research, and theological education. It addresses concrete questions seminarians are already facing: how AI shapes habits of study, authorship, reflection, and intellectual integrity, and where its use can either support or undermine formation. Grounded in Catholic spiritual and theological tradition, the session is organized around three formative pillars—pastoral presence, spiritual formation, and discernment—inviting seminarians to reflect not only on how AI can assist learning and communication, but also on when its use may short-circuit the slow, prayerful work essential to priestly formation. By integrating practical examples from preaching preparation and academic work with ethical reflection, the session helps seminarians develop mature judgment around educational AI, ensuring that technology serves formation rather than replacing the human, intellectual, and spiritual labor through which vocation is shaped. Originally presented at St. Joseph’s Seminary & College (Archdiocese of New York), Yonkers, NY.

 

5. AI and the Future of Catholic Faith Formation and Education

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• Audience: Catechists, Catholic school educators, DREs, youth ministers, and diocesan faith formation offices

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• Description: As artificial intelligence increasingly shapes how people learn, communicate, and form meaning, Catholic faith formation is called to respond with both creativity and discernment. This session invites catechists, educators, and ministry leaders to examine how AI is already influencing religious education—from lesson planning and curriculum design to habits of attention, reflection, and spiritual formation. Rather than focusing on efficiency alone, the presentation explores how AI can support learning while safeguarding the relational, communal, and formative dimensions at the heart of catechesis. Grounded in Catholic theology and a vision of formation that integrates intellect, faith, and lived practice, the session encourages educators to engage AI as a pedagogical tool—never a substitute—for forming conscience, cultivating imagination, and nurturing communities of faith. Originally presented at the 2026 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.