Use of AI in Pastoral Care: Innovation to Serve Catholics

Abstrak

The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technology opens up opportunities and challenges for the pastoral care of the Catholic Church. This paper examines the potential and strategies for optimising AI to improve the quality of pastoral care effectively and ethically. The results show that most parishioners expect the Church to use digital technology and AI to access online spiritual content, virtual counseling, and online communities to respond to contemporary situations. Meanwhile, the Church needs to develop ethical guidelines and a comprehensive pastoral AI policy by involving the community of believers from the beginning. AI implementation is recommended to adopt a hybrid approach, combining AI decisions and human judgment in significant administrative and pastoral functions. Auditing AI algorithms is also essential to ensure no bias or potential discrimination against minorities. Training and digital literacy for pastoral ministers and those in authority in a Church community will significantly support the optimal and ethical application of AI in line with the values of the Catholic faith. With the proper ethical and policy framework, AI can significantly improve the Church's pastoral care quality.