Asian bishops’ communications arm urges AI safeguards and support for digital missionaries

The Catholic Church’s communications arm in Asia is urging bishops’ conferences across the region to adopt artificial intelligence safeguards and to strengthen support for digital missionaries.

In a statement issued after a five-day meeting in Macau, the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences Office of Social Communications (FABC-OSC) called for pastoral AI policies, digital literacy programs and authentic Church resources in local languages. “[We] encourage episcopal conferences to establish pastoral safeguards for the use of AI appropriate to their context in line with the teachings of the Church,” said the statement, which was signed by FABC-OSC chairman Bishop Marcelino Antonio Maralit Jr.

The bishops also announced plans to establish a regional committee to train and support digital missionaries, whose work, they said, should be integrated into the Church’s evangelization mission. The OSC and Radio Veritas Asia pledged to sustain and promote the Asian Catholic Digital Missionaries Network.

The statement also warned of digital threats, including online sexual exploitation, cyber scams, deepfakes and unequal access to technology. It further cited exploited labor and environmental damage linked to AI. Naming online sexual exploitation among the dangers calls for protecting the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

The bishops said technology must serve human dignity and the common good without replacing authentic human encounters, prayer and sacramental life. “Behind every screen, there is a face,” they said, adding that “only human persons can carry authentic presence.”

The statement noted that Asia accounts for about two-thirds of the world’s six billion internet users, while Catholics make up only 11% of the continent’s population. For this reason, it described digital platforms as an important missionary frontier.

The statement followed the FABC-OSC Bishops’ Meeting, held October 27–31 in Macau, which brought together prelates, priests, religious and lay communication leaders.

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