In this conversation, Edmund sits down with Matthew Sanders, co-founder of Magisterium AI, to explore how Catholics can faithfully and intelligently engage emerging technologies. Matthew brings a refreshing perspective rooted in pastoral reality, human formation, and a deep trust in the Church’s mission.
They discuss why AI should not be evaluated in isolation, how good formation dictates good discernment, what Thomas Aquinas might do with ChatGPT at his elbow, and why Catholic leaders should look closely at the stated visions of today’s major AI companies. Matthew also explains how AI can serve as a “front porch to the Church” for seekers—and why the ultimate goal isn’t Catholic AI, but fully formed Catholics who no longer need it.
If you’ve wondered how AI fits into the journey toward human flourishing and sainthood, or what a “City of God in the robotics age” might look like, this episode offers clarity, challenge, and hope.
Key Takeaways
AI shouldn’t be judged in isolation. It must be discerned within the pastoral reality of community and the Church’s mission of helping people flourish.
Many concerns about AI are actually concerns about incomplete human, intellectual, and spiritual formation, not about the technology itself.
“How would a saint use AI?” is Matthew’s guiding question; a saint would approach it respectfully, virtuously, and for the sake of others.
Aquinas is a surprising model for AI-era thinking: his clarity, structure, and precision map naturally onto how AI distills knowledge, which is why his work appears so often in Magisterium AI.
Catholic leaders should read AI companies’ public documents and ask: What problem are they trying to solve? What vision of the human person is driving their work?
AI can serve as a “front porch to the Church” for people who become intellectually convinced of the faith but lack relationships with Catholics.
In an ideal Catholic culture, maybe we wouldn’t need Catholic AI tools. But right now, they can help us meet people where they are and accompany them toward community.
A Catholic future with AI depends on human agency, not technological inevitability; we must intentionally shape how AI supports human dignity, human vocation, and human flourishing.
The goal isn’t AI replacing anything essential, but AI freeing people from what impedes their flourishing, so they can live more deeply the life God intends.
Great formation removes fear. When we’re well formed, we don’t panic about technology. We discern how to use it for good.
Episode Guest
Matthew Sanders is the CEO of Longbeard, a digital technology and marketing agency, who is also behind Magisterium AI. He spent years in Rome and then Malta working with the Holy See and Pontifical Universities to help them more effectively leverage digital technologies to promote the faith. Longboard is also behind Vulgate, a project that utilizes several AI technologies to make library contents more accessible. Vulgate is currently powering a historic library digitization project with Pontifical universities in Rome..
What do you think? Join the conversation.
There are advantages to participating in a learning community. (Checkout the episode with Letty Garcia to learn more about the importance of learning communities.)
This means resisting the temptation to learn and experiment in isolation and instead fostering conversations around shared learning.
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