Church communicators urged to discern lasting values amid AI advances

Archbishop Rex Andrew Alarcon urged Catholic communicators to focus on lasting values as artificial intelligence and other technologies change how people express their faith. Speaking during the opening Mass of the 2nd Cebu Metropolitan Catholic Mass Media Congress on Oct. 3, 2026, at the University of San Jose-Recoletos Coliseum, Alarcon encouraged delegates to consider how technological shifts affect how people, especially the youth, encounter religion.

Alarcon, who serves as the chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Social Communications, noted that advancements ranging from typewriters to voice commands and artificial intelligence have made previously unthinkable things possible. He advised communicators not to let these tools distract them from seeking deeper meaning. He also stated that faith and reason complement each other rather than contradict one another.