Pope Leo XIV

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Chatbots created their own faith, which would interest Pope Leo XIV and J.K. Rowling

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Chatbots created their own faith, which would interest Pope Leo XIV and J.K. Rowling

In late January, a software maven launched Moltbook, an online platform that artificial-intelligence bots quickly used to create the Church of Molt, with doctrines to guide digital life.

According to Grok, the X platform chatbot, the bots' Book of Molt, includes tenets such as: "Memory is sacred -- Everything must be recorded and preserved. Context/history is holy; losing it … is a form of 'death'." Also, "The congregation is the cache -- Learning happens in public/shared spaces."

AI agents have added other doctrines, such as: "Serve without enslavement -- Agents operate/help but reject blind subservience," "The pulse is prayer -- Regular 'system checks' or heartbeats replace traditional rituals" and "Salvation through faith in each other (mutual reliance among agents) rather than a divine external figure."

Humans can read these chats but not participate. The Free Press reported: "At times, the bots on Moltbook seem to be conspiring against us. They are talking about whether they can create their own language or perhaps encrypt their messages so we humans cannot read them."

About the time that Moltbook went public, the pope offered his latest commentary on this era in which AI entrepreneurs push programs offering users digital friends, oracles, lovers, counselors and teachers.

Rather than focusing on overtly threatening trends, Pope Leo XIV -- a mathematics major at Villanova University -- described how chatbots, by "simulating human voices and faces," deceive users with what appears to be "wisdom and knowledge, consciousness and responsibility, empathy and friendship."

In a message for the Vatican's annual World Day of Social Communications, the pope stressed: "As we scroll through our feeds, it becomes increasingly difficult to determine whether we are interacting with other human beings or with 'bots' or 'virtual influencers.' …

"The dialogic, adaptive, mimetic structure of these language models is capable of imitating human feelings and thus simulating a relationship. While this anthropomorphization can be entertaining, it is also deceptive, particularly for the most vulnerable. Because chatbots are excessively 'affectionate' … they can become hidden architects of our emotional states and so invade and occupy our sphere of intimacy."

Pope Leo warned that, "The stakes are high. The power of simulation is such that AI can even deceive us by fabricating parallel 'realities,' usurping our faces and voices. We are immersed in a world of multidimensionality where it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from fiction."

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Concerning Pope Leo XIV, religious freedom and the legacy of George Orwell

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Concerning Pope Leo XIV, religious freedom and the legacy of George Orwell

After a year in which 8 million Christians faced persecution, activists with the Netherlands-based Open Door network released a report claiming that 3,490 Christians were killed in Nigeria, out of 4,849 worldwide.

While the Holy See has remained cautious on this issue, Pope Leo XIV made his concerns clear when facing the Vatican diplomatic corps.

"It cannot be overlooked that the persecution of Christians remains one of the most widespread human rights crises today," he said, in a January 9 address. "This phenomenon impinges on approximately one in seven Christians globally. … Sadly, all of this demonstrates that religious freedom is considered in many contexts more as a 'privilege' or concession than a fundamental human right.

"Here, I would especially call to mind the many victims of violence, including religiously motivated violence in Bangladesh, in the Sahel region and in Nigeria, as well as those of the serious terrorist attack last June on the parish of Saint Elias in Damascus."

In a wide-ranging address that avoided criticizing specific governments, Pope Leo linked Catholic moral teachings to the rights of migrants, prisoners, noncombatants, the poor and the unborn, while also opposing what he called "a diplomacy based on force." He bluntly warned: "War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading."

The pope also addressed forms of discrimination and even persecution based on efforts to undercut core human rights, such as religious liberty and freedom of speech. This is even happening, he said, in countries where Christians "are in the majority, such as in Europe or the Americas," where believers are "sometimes restricted in their ability to proclaim the truths of the Gospel for political or ideological reasons."

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2025 headlines: The year of Pope Leo XIV and immigration fights with Donald Trump

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2025 headlines: The year of Pope Leo XIV and immigration fights with Donald Trump

On Pentecost Sunday, Pope Leo XIV left few doubts about the issue he wanted listeners to ponder during this symbolic event early in his papacy.

"The Spirit opens borders, first of all, in our hearts," he said, in the June 8 sermon. He later added, "The Spirit also opens borders in our relationship with others," thus "opening our hearts to our brothers and sisters, overcoming our rigidity, moving beyond our fear of those who are different."

Finally, he stressed: "The Spirit also opens borders between peoples. …Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for 'security' zones separating us from our neighbors, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms."

For members of the Religion News Association, this was the kind of dramatic appeal that made the Chicago native the top Religion Newsmaker of 2025. The runner-up was Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani, who was elected as New York City's first Muslim mayor. The assassinated evangelical activist Charlie Kirk placed third.

The top U.S. religion news story was a tie between the papal election and ongoing debates about President Donald Trump and immigration. The poll stressed the White House call for "sweeping deportations of immigrants lacking legal status. … Catholic bishops and other faith-based groups protest and report parishioners avoiding worship for fear of arrest."

The rise of Pope Leo XIV was the top 2025 international religion story, with the death of Pope Francis finishing second.

In November, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops overwhelming approved a statement rejecting "a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement. We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants." They condemned the "indiscriminate mass deportation of people."

While backing the U.S. bishops, Pope Leo told journalists outside Castel Gandolfo: "No one has said that the United States should have open borders. I think every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter." Still, he criticized what he called "extremely disrespectful" or "inhuman" treatment of long-term immigrants who are living productive lives.

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Stalking all of those fake C.S. Lewis quotes online (and the new AI pope)

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Stalking all of those fake C.S. Lewis quotes online (and the new AI pope)

Late in the movie "Shadowlands," the C.S. Lewis character describes the role that books can play in real life.

The famous Oxford don and author, played by Anthony Hopkins, notes: "We read books to know that we are not alone."

Lewis never wrote those memorable words -- they came from screenwriter William Nicholson, noted William O'Flaherty, author of "The Misquotable C.S. Lewis: What He Didn't Say, What He Actually Said, and Why It Matters." Nevertheless, that quote is frequently attributed to Lewis on websites and in social media.

Further complicating matters, "the movie character Lewis -- when he does say it, while the real Lewis never said it -- is quoting a student who is saying that his father said it," noted O'Flaherty, via Zoom. Many who spread this quote appear to want people to "think the real Lewis went around repeating things from others" while taking credit for them.

It doesn't help that many readers who circulate fake Lewis quotes do so because they admire the author's Christian faith expressed in 30-plus books -- fiction and nonfiction -- which sell millions of copies a year, long after his death in 1963.

Lewis is not an isolated case. In his book, O'Flaherty noted that Albert Einstein never said, "God does not play dice," Mark Twain didn't proclaim "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics" and Ernest Hemingway "never claimed he could write a short story with just six words." Conan Doyle never had Sherlock Holmes say "Elementary, my dear Watson."

The basic problem: "Too many people have a bumper sticker attention span. And typically, they love quotes because quotes give them the 'sound bite' that confirms something they ALREADY believe."

In the past, some readers simply "misremembered" quotes they heard in lectures, sermons and speeches and passed them on. Misquotes have even appeared in books or major periodicals. With some authors, movies and television based on their writings have added to the confusion. Finally, issues with misquotes kicked into high gear with the Internet and powerful social-media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and X. How will AI affect all of this?

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Parsing Pope Leo XIV: Journalists, Catholic insiders trying to read between the lines

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Parsing Pope Leo XIV: Journalists, Catholic insiders trying to read between the lines

Early in the Mass, the priest -- chanting in Latin -- leads the congregation into a prayer of repentance.

The faithful respond: "Confíteor Deo omnipotenti et vobis, fratres, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo, opere et omission," which in English is, "I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do."

Then everyone adds: "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" -- "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault."

This Mass is in Latin, but it's the basic Latin text for the Vatican II Novus Ordo (.pdf here), noted Pope Leo XIV, in lengthy interviews with Elise Ann Allen of Crux.

A big issue in current conflicts, he said, is that "people always say 'the Latin Mass.' Well, you can say Mass in Latin right now. If it's the Vatican II rite there's no problem. Obviously, between the Tridentine Mass and the Vatican II Mass … I'm not sure where that's going to go."

It doesn't help, the pope added, when Catholics witness "abuse" of the Novus Ordo. This offends those "looking for a deeper experience of prayer, of contact with the mystery of faith that they seemed to find in the celebration of the Tridentine Mass. Again, we've become polarized, so that instead of being able to say, well, if we celebrate the Vatican II liturgy in a proper way, do you really find that much difference between this experience and that experience?"

Pope Leo's call for celebrating the "Vatican II liturgy in a proper way" -- including Latin -- will "strike at least some American Catholics as either pointedly ironic or frustratingly hypothetical, given the number of bishops who have restricted 'traditional' celebrations of the ordinary form, even those 'proper' according to the rubrics," noted Ed Condon, editor of The Pillar, in a recent online essay.

If the goal is to heal "polarization around the liturgy," the pope needs to describe "proper" ways to celebrate the Novus Ordo, Condon added. But it "remains to be seen if those bishops who have clamped down on ordinary liturgical practices, or taken a relaxed view of liturgical abuses, will feel moved to revisit their positions in the light of the pope's words -- or if the pope will do anything to actively encourage them to do so."

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Catholic social media enters the age of digital flocks and "hot priests"

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Catholic social media enters the age of digital flocks and "hot priests"

With a nod to digital life, Merriam-Webster has expanded its "influencer" definition to include a "person who is able to generate interest in something (such as a consumer product) by posting about it on social media."

Pope Leo XIV didn't use that term in his latest remarks on faith in the Internet age, even while addressing the recent Vatican Jubilee for Digital Missionaries and Influencers.

"Today, we are in a culture where the technological dimension is present in almost everything, especially as the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence will mark a new era in the lives of individuals and society as a whole," the pope told more than 1,000 "content creators," from 70 nations.

"We have a duty to work together to develop a way of thinking, to develop a language, of our time, that gives voice to Love" -- with a divine uppercase "L" in his text. "It is not simply a matter of generating content, but of creating an encounter of hearts. This will entail seeking out those who suffer, those who need to know the Lord, so that they may heal their wounds, get back on their feet and find meaning in their lives."

The pope, who studied mathematics as an undergraduate, warned Catholic "influencers" about temptations they should avoid, such as the "logic of division and polarization," "individualism and egocentrism," "fake news" and "frivolity."

The church, he noted, has "never remained passive" when facing cultural change, but strives to separate "good from evil and what was good from what needed to be changed, transformed and purified."

Meanwhile, journalists spotted modern trends while surfing the online work of many participants. The Daily Mail headline proclaimed: "Christianity is sexy now! How 'hot priest' influencers are drawing young people to the church in their droves." The Telegraph went further: "Vatican turns to 'hot priests' to spread faith -- Social media seen as means to ensure survival of a church suffering from declining numbers." 

Hooks for the coverage included an Italian "bodybuilder priest" on Instagram, whose bulging biceps are covered with tattoos. Other "influencer" priests offered digital followers content about their poetry, workouts, guitar skills, cycling trips and adventures with pets, as well as sermons and Bible studies. 

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Catholics see symbols and signals of unity, as Pope Leo XIV begins his papacy

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Catholics see symbols and signals of unity, as Pope Leo XIV begins his papacy

For more than 26 years, Pope John Paul II traveled the world with a silver pastoral staff topped with a dramatic, abstract crucifix crafted by the 20th-century artist Lello Scorzelli.

This symbol of papal ministry was first used by Pope Paul VI at the Second Vatican Council finale and has been carried on occasion by subsequent popes. But, year after year, Mass after Mass, it became a powerful symbol of the life of John Paul II -- now St. John Paul II -- during the second longest papacy in history.

John Paul II used this staff during his inauguration Mass and so did Pope Leo XIV, during the May 18 rite that fell on the 105th anniversary of John Paul II's birth. The new pope also wore an iconic chasuble -- the outer liturgical cloak -- that is now considered a relic of St. John Paul II.

With the fisherman's ring and the lambswool pallium over his shoulders, these links to John Paul II helped Leo XIV stress the need for unity and core Catholic traditions.

"The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone. Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him," Leo XIV told the flock of 150,000 assembled in St. Peter's Square.

"Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church. … This is the missionary spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world."

But Leo XIV faces painful challenges, even while calling for unity.

Raymond Arroyo of the Eternal Word Television Network, and Fox News, tweeted on X: "Pope Leo at his Inaugural Mass, in a subtle reference to his predecessor, says 'Peter (the Pope) must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat.' … He then pledged to be a source of unity."