Pope Leo XIV Calls for Renewed Church-Artist Alliance, Warns Against AI in Art

Key facts

• Pope Leo XIV spoke on Friday, October 2, in the Vatican's Consistory Hall.
• The event was titled "The Art of Possibility: Weaving Together" and organized by the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
• The Pope stated the Catholic Church plans to renew its alliance with artists and cultural institutions.
• He warned of rising threats of censorship and homogenization under AI.
• He said: "There is an ontological difference — even before an aesthetic one — between art and what a machine can generate through statistical calculation based on millions of images created by others."
• He quoted his first encyclical letter, "Magnifica Humanitas," published in May, stating that "algorithms lack the spark of the human" while "authentic culture and art preserve this spark."
• The phrase "The Ear is the Eye of the Soul" is the name of this year's Vatican pavilion.
• Patti Smith inaugurated the Holy See Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in May with a sound installation.