MACAU (RVA News): The Church must bring the “wisdom of the heart” into the digital world, using artificial intelligence [AI] to reach people while guiding them toward authentic human relationships and the life of the Church, Dr. Victor Lam said at the opening of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences Office of Social Communication [FABC-OSC] meeting in Macau on October 28.
In his bridging talk, “From Pastoral to Evangelising, from Hong Kong to Macau,” Lam linked last year’s discussions on AI and its impact on humanity at the FABC-OSC meeting in Hong Kong [Sunday Examiner, 21 December 2025] with this year’s focus on evangelisation. He called for a shift from viewing digital technology mainly as a pastoral tool to recognising the digital world as a mission territory.
Lam is a retired Hong Kong government official with extensive experience in e-governance. He advises the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong on catechism and IT, and he has also been involved in the catechetical ministry for over 40 years.
Building on Pope Francis’ call for the “wisdom of the heart” and Pope Leo XIV’s vision in Magnifica Humanitas, he said technological progress must be guided by human dignity, solidarity, and a commitment to the common good, rather than efficiency, profit, or manipulation.
…technological progress must be guided by human dignity, solidarity, and a commitment to the common good, rather than efficiency, profit, or manipulatio
He acknowledged that while AI can offer significant opportunities, it is not morally neutral. Its design and use can embedded biases and shape human behaviour, making ethical vigilance and concrete social action essential.
Drawing on the biblical accounts of the Tower of Babel and the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls, Lam contrasted technology used to pursue dominance and uniformity with technology directed toward collaboration, compassion, and restoration. He stressed that the question is not simply whether to use AI, but what kind of society people are building through it.
He also cautioned against approaches that treat human limitations and vulnerability as problems to be eliminated through technological optimisation. Authentic humanism, he argued, recognises that human flourishing depends on relationships, moral responsibility, and the willingness to give oneself for others.
For the Church, this means entering the digital world not merely to manage technology or increase online engagement, but to evangelise. “Our mandate is to carry the language of the Gospel into this space,” Lam said, describing the digital sphere as a “digital continent” where people, especially young people, increasingly live and interact.
He called for the formation of digital missionaries who see online encounters as opportunities for meaningful evangelisation, rather than simply pursuing likes, followers, or algorithmic trends
He called for the formation of digital missionaries who see online encounters as opportunities for meaningful evangelisation, rather than simply pursuing likes, followers, or algorithmic trends.
Lam outlined three priorities for this mission: educating young people to use technology responsibly and freely, cultivating real human relationships that digital connections cannot replace, and ensuring that technology promotes justice, peace, and the common good.
Holding up St. Francis of Assisi as a model, he emphasised that peace and evangelisation require personal encounter, dialogue, and embodied love. Digital tools can initiate contact, but the ultimate goal is to accompany people beyond the screen into real relationships and the sacramental life of the Church.
The October 27–31 meeting brought together Asian bishops and Church communicators under the theme “Magnifica Humanitas and the Synodal Ways of Evangelisation in Asia: Communicating Christ in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
