Fr. Paul Hoàng Mạnh Huy, head of the Communications Office of Phu Cuong Diocese in southern Vietnam and founder of the C-mate system, is helping Catholic priests, religious and laypeople understand and use artificial intelligence (AI) in pastoral ministry.
For Fr. Paul, engaging with AI is not simply about keeping pace with technology. He sees it as a pastoral need as AI becomes increasingly common in the daily lives of Catholics, particularly young people.
“If the Church does not understand the tools people use every day, it risks remaining outside their living space,” he said.
His approach draws on recent Church teaching, including Pope Francis’ 2024 World Communications Day message, “Artificial Intelligence and Wisdom of the Heart,” and Antiqua et Nova, the 2025 document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Culture and Education.
Father Paul’s training programs combine basic technical knowledge with Catholic teaching on AI. Participants learn about the development and operation of AI, prompt writing and practical applications for parish administration and pastoral work.
A key focus of his courses is helping participants understand both the capabilities and limitations of AI. He describes it as a powerful “word-prediction machine” that has neither conscience nor faith and therefore cannot replace human judgment, relationships or spiritual discernment.
The purpose, he said, is to help Church personnel use technology responsibly while freeing more time for pastoral priorities such as personal encounters, the sacraments and spiritual accompaniment.
Fr. Paul has conducted AI formation programs for religious congregations, seminaries and diocesan groups in different parts of Vietnam. Among the institutions he has visited are the Catholic Institute of Vietnam, St. Joseph’s Major Seminary of Saigon, and communications and formation centers serving several religious congregations and dioceses.
He has also provided ongoing formation for clergy in the Phu Cuong and Xuan Loc dioceses, helping priests explore practical applications of AI in their ministry and administration.
Looking ahead, Fr. Paul plans to develop online courses for priests, religious and lay Catholics to promote a more informed and responsible approach to AI.
He is also preparing a Vietnamese-language book, The Word-Prediction Machine (Cỗ Máy Đoán Chữ), which he hopes will help Catholics reflect on artificial intelligence from the perspective of faith.
Through his training initiatives and the C-mate system, Father Paul seeks to help the Church in Vietnam engage emerging technology critically and pastorally, keeping AI in its proper place as a tool in service of people and the Church’s mission.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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