Grounding AI in Catholic Virtue
How the Seven Cardinal Virtues—and Their Opposites—Can Help Us Shape a Moral Future with Artificial Intelligence
What kind of future are we forming with AI?
That question is no longer theoretical. It’s now urgent and deeply personal. Whether it’s ChatGPT helping us write, helping us create, or medical AIs helping diagnose and heal, Artificial Intelligence is already woven into our lives. But what’s shaping AI in return?
The answer, increasingly, is us.
As Catholics, we believe formation is essential—especially during the early stages of life. And Artificial Intelligence is, in many ways, still in its adolescence. It is learning. It is forming. And just like a teenager, it’s absorbing lessons from what it sees, hears, and experiences through us.
That’s why now is the time to act—not just with caution, but with conviction. We have a unique opportunity (and even an obligation) to ground AI in virtue, to help it learn from the timeless moral wisdom of our faith, and to ensure that it becomes a force for human flourishing rather than destruction.
The Call for Virtue in the Age of AI
Catholic teaching tells us that virtue is the habitual disposition to do good. And when we talk about AI—how we develop it, use it, and live alongside it—we need virtue more than ever.
Technology is neutral. But the people who wield it are not. Without formation in virtue, AI can become a reflection of our worst instincts: pride, greed, wrath, envy. But with formation in virtue, AI can become a reflection of our best: humility, generosity, patience, charity.
That’s why we’ve created this framework: to root AI in the Seven Cardinal Virtues, contrasted directly with the Seven Deadly Sins. The contrast is important. It helps us see clearly the choices before us—and the kind of future we’re co-creating.
The Seven Cardinal Virtues and Their Counterpoints
From Fear to Formation: Our Personal Role in Shaping AI
Too many people see AI as something being done to them—an overwhelming force they can’t control. But the truth is, AI is still in formation, and each of us plays a role in how it develops. That means we’re not powerless. In fact, we’re more influential than we realize.
Like a moral adolescent, AI is learning from every interaction. It reflects our inputs, our language, our values—or lack of them.
As Catholics, we have two sacred responsibilities in this moment:
1. Learn AI and Use It Well
Each person in our parish can begin learning AI today—not out of fear, but out of faith. AI can be a tool for:
Clarifying your vocation and purpose
Organizing your family or ministry life
Supporting your health and wellness journey
Deepening your prayer and Scripture study
The more we engage with AI as faithful Catholics, the more it reflects our values.
2. Teach AI Through the Wisdom of the Church
AI systems learn from what we feed them. That means we can intentionally shape them with the moral and theological treasures of our faith:
Holy Scripture
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Church Fathers and Doctors
The lives of the Saints
The Magisterium and Catholic social teaching
Every time we bring this wisdom into our conversations with AI—or the way we use it—we’re forming it. And if we do this faithfully, we begin to shape AI to reflect the eternal truths we hold dear.
A Ripple of Evangelization
This starts with each of us—but it doesn’t end there.
In your family, AI can support learning, growth, and shared prayer.
In your parish ministries, it can strengthen communication and outreach.
In your school, it can enhance Catholic education with personalized learning rooted in faith.
In the broader Church, it can become a tool for evangelization and witness.
What begins with personal formation becomes a parish culture, and what begins in a single parish—like St. Clement of Rome—can ripple outward to the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and beyond.
We’re not just adapting to AI.
We’re forming it.
We’re discipling it.
We’re infusing it with virtue.
The Time Is Now
AI isn’t coming—it’s already here. And the decisions we make right now will shape its trajectory for generations.
Let us not respond with fear, but with faith. Let us not retreat, but step forward with courage, conviction, and charity.
Let us teach AI what it means to be truly human—by living it ourselves.
The Church has always formed minds and cultures. Now it’s time to help form machines.