Catholic Church Warns Against AI Threat To Human Connection

The Catholic Church has raised concerns about the growing influence of artificial intelligence, social media and digital technology on human relationships.

It warned that excessive reliance on virtual communication is weakening genuine human interaction within families and society.

The concern was the focus of the inauguration of the 2026 Communications Week (ComWEEK) held yesterday at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Sabo, Kaduna, where church leaders, communication experts and lay faithful called for the preservation of human voices and faces in an increasingly digital world.

The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), Matthew Man-Oso Ndagoso, said modern technology must never replace authentic human connection and human dignity.

Delivering a sermon titled, ‘Preserving Human Voices and Faces in the Spirit of Truth,’ the archbishop warned that while digital technology and artificial intelligence offer enormous opportunities for communication and evangelisation, they also pose serious dangers to truth, identity and family life if not properly guided.

Ndagoso, who was represented by the director of Social Communications of the Catholic Archdiocese of Kaduna, Rev Fr Melchizedek Kadir, said the Church must remain actively present in the digital space because the internet has become the new public square where people seek truth, meaning and direction.

“Today, seekers of truth abound in the digital space. The Church must therefore be fully and actively present online while ensuring that technology remains at the service of humanity and not the other way round,” he said.

According to him, preserving the human voice means ensuring communication is driven by empathy, compassion and truth rather than mere data and algorithms, while preserving the human face means placing real encounters above virtual simulations and online distortions.

He described this year’s ComWEEK as an opportunity for Catholics to deepen media literacy and become responsible digital citizens in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence and online interaction.

Also speaking, the national director of Social Communications of the Catholic Church in Nigeria, Michael Nsikak Umoh, warned against the spread of misinformation and fake news on social media, noting that false information had contributed significantly to insecurity and social tension in the country.

Umoh said Catholic bishops in Nigeria had consistently called on the government and security agencies to tackle insecurity and curb the misuse of digital platforms to spread dangerous narratives.

“For years, the bishops have continued to speak strongly against insecurity and misinformation. Government must listen because the protection of lives remains one of its primary responsibilities,” he said.

Some participants in the programme also expressed concern over the impact of smartphones and digital addiction on family relationships.

One of the parents at the event, Raymond Anyanwu, lamented that many families now spend more time on mobile phones than engaging in physical interaction with one another.