{"id":2232204,"date":"2024-04-28T18:17:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-28T22:17:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/catholic-organization-creates-ai-priest-defrocks-him-almost-immediately-after-public-outcry-over-specific-detail\/"},"modified":"2024-04-28T18:20:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-28T22:20:37","slug":"catholic-organization-creates-ai-priest-defrocks-him-almost-immediately-after-public-outcry-over-specific-detail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/catholic-organization-creates-ai-priest-defrocks-him-almost-immediately-after-public-outcry-over-specific-detail\/","title":{"rendered":"Catholic Group Develops AI &#8216;Priest,&#8217; Strips Title Amid Public Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcatholic-organization-creates-ai-priest-defrocks-him-almost-immediately-after-public-outcry-over-specific-detail%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2232204&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Catholic\u200d Answers faced backlash for introducing an AI &#8216;Priest,&#8217; swiftly removing the religious title following widespread protest regarding \u2063its representation. The organization aimed to \u2062use the AI as \u2064an informative tool for\u2064 understanding\u2062 Catholicism but reconsidered its\u200c approach due to community feedback. Catholic\u200c Answers received criticism for unveiling an AI \u2064&#8217;Priest,&#8217; subsequently \u200dretracting the religious designation due to public outcry. The \u2063AI was intended \u2064to serve as an\u2063 educational tool about Catholicism, but the organization altered its approach in response to community input.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<header> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/commentary\/\">  Commentary <\/a>  <\/p>\n<h2>Catholic Organization Creates AI &#8216;Priest,&#8217; Defrocks Him Almost Immediately After Public Outcry Over Specific Detail<\/h2>\n<p> <span> <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/igcolonel\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<p> <span>   By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/igcolonel\/%20\"><span>Warner Todd Huston<\/span><\/a> <\/span> <span>   April 28, 2024 at 1:39pm <\/span> <\/span>  <\/header>\n<section>\n<p>A Catholic media organization called Catholic Answers got itself in a bit of hot water on social media last week when it debuted an app it was calling \u201cFather Justin, your AI Catholic answers advisor,\u201d which featured an artificial intelligence-based animation of a Catholic priest who could answer questions about the faith.<\/p>\n<p>Catholic Answers hoped that the AI animation could serve as a sort of \u201csearch engine\u201d to help people get answers to questions they might have about Catholicism and to help guide people to become Catholics.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Costello, director of I.T. at Catholic Answers, went on to speak to their goals with this new AI app.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur goal with the Father Justin app is to leverage the power of large language models\u2014or \u2018LLMs\u2019\u2014to create an engaging and informative experience for those exploring the Catholic faith,\u201d Costello said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholic.com\/news\/introducing-the-father-justin-interactive-ai-app-by-catholic-answers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Catholic Answers news release<\/a>. \u201cAlthough this is not a substitute for human interaction with a priest, teacher, or spiritual advisor, we believe it can be a valuable tool to help our users better understand and articulate the teachings of the Catholic faith.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The AI animation was presented as a common <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/priest-open-funeral-approached-choirmaster-left-shaken-truth-comes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">parish priest<\/a> complete with a white tab collar. That specific detail, however, drew enough of a backlash that the organization has changed course.<\/p>\n<p>The decision to use a parish priest character was purposeful, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ariz-attorney-general-seeks-temporary-restraining-order-on-bidens-vaccine-mandate\/\" title=\"Ariz. Attorney General seeks temporary restraining order on Biden\u2019s vaccine mandate\">news release stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe wanted to convey the spirit and nature of the responses users can expect\u2014authoritative yet approachable, drawing from the deep well of Catholic tradition and teaching. We believe that the presentation of Father Justin honors real-life priests and the role they play in people\u2019s lives, yet we are confident that our users will not mistake the AI for a human being,\u201d Costello said in the release.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Introducing Father Justin, the New Interactive AI from Catholic Answers<\/p>\n<p>Catholic Answers, the number-one lay Catholic apostolate of apologetics and evangelization, is excited to announce the release of our new \u201cFather Justin\u201d interactive AI app. This innovative digital\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/GDs2KKx216\">pic.twitter.com\/GDs2KKx216<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Catholic Answers (@catholiccom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/catholiccom\/status\/1782829157245923598?\">April 23, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div id=\"firefly-poll-container\">\n<p>Has the use of AI gone too far?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In very short order, though, Catholic Answers, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholic.com\/about\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">apostolate<\/a> in the Diocese of San Diego, found itself in the middle of a firestorm of protest from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mcdonalds-credits-christians-proud-success-story-prominent-menu-item\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">faithful<\/a> and the non-faithful alike over the online tool.<\/p>\n<p>People began flooding the group with complaints because it had imbued a cartoon creation with the vestments of a Catholic priest. Giving an electronic program a tab collar and priestly vestments seemed to outrage many Catholics who worried awarding a computer program such habiliments made the authentic ones bestowed on real priests less meaningful.<\/p>\n<blockquote data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">No. I\u2019m sorry, I think you had the best intentions in mind, and it looked great in theory, but in actual practice it\u2019s a terrible idea. Please dispatch him, post-haste. \ud83d\udc4e\ud83c\udffb<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Christine Sarracino (@ChrisMSarracino) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ChrisMSarracino\/status\/1782915300502937871?\">April 23, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Did any bishops approve of this? Priests can\u2019t be ordained without a bishop<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Texas Trumper (@Texas_Trumper_3) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Texas_Trumper_3\/status\/1782880878194000295?\">April 23, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Turn it off, you are doing grave damage through this fake AI priest.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 F (@FF483758345) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FF483758345\/status\/1783177264080748815?\">April 24, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Going to break my Twitter reply fast to put the down vote in on this. It undermines the entire ministry of Catholic answers.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Maria (@marihear) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/marihear\/status\/1783171613409542387?\">April 24, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">im not catholic, and very pro-ai, but it does seem weird to give him a title<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 karenb13 (@karenb134) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/karenb134\/status\/1783887105862570090?\">April 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The complaints calling this effort an example of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/famous-american-cathedral-tricked-hosting-sacrilege-funeral-service-transgender-atheist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201csacrilege\u201d<\/a> came in so thick that Catholic Answers had to act.<\/p>\n<p>In response, Catholic Answers President Christopher Check announced the company has done a full <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/catholiccom\/status\/1783255521262440805\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">about face<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a media apostolate, we feel very strongly about finding new ways to share the gospel\u2014as our founder, Karl Keating, did many years ago when he started http:\/\/Catholic.com to put that wild new technology of the Internet to the service of Catholic truth,\u201d Check explained<a href=\"https:\/\/www.catholic.com\/news\/just-justin-for-now\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> in a statement<\/a> released one day after the launch of the \u201cFather Justin\u201d app.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecently, my colleagues and I at Catholic Answers have received a good deal of helpful feedback concerning another new technology: our AI app, \u2018Fr. Justin.\u2019 Prevalent among users\u2019 comments is criticism of the representation of the AI character as a priest,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cWe chose the character to convey a quality of knowledge and authority, and also as a sign of the respect that all of us at Catholic Answers hold for our clergy. Many people, however, have voiced concerns about this choice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe hear these concerns; and we do not want the character to distract from the important purpose of the application, which is to provide sound answers to questions about the Catholic faith in an innovative way that makes good use of the benefits of \u2018artificial intelligence,&#8217;\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>So, Check noted that the group is going back to the drawing board and dumping Father Justin\u2026 or at least the \u2018Father\u2019 part of Father Justin.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">A statement from the President of Catholic Answers regarding the character formerly known as \u201cFather Justin\u201d: <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/n3n5q402sO\">pic.twitter.com\/n3n5q402sO<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Catholic Answers (@catholiccom) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/catholiccom\/status\/1783242081848144320?\">April 24, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe have therefore decided to create, with all wary speed, a new lay character for the app,\u201d he exclaimed. \u201cWe hope to have this AI apologist up within a week or so. Until then, we have rendered \u2018Fr. Justin\u2019 just \u2018Justin.\u2019 We won\u2019t say he\u2019s been laicized, because he never was a real priest!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019ll be available to visitors to Catholic.com, thousands of whom have already used the app with great profit. Furthermore, with the help of user input, we will continue to refine and improve the app by identifying any deficiencies (we didn\u2019t anticipate that someone might seek sacramental absolution from a computer graphic!), which we quickly correct,\u201d Check concluded.<\/p>\n<p>Kudos to Catholic Answers leaders for so quickly realizing they made a huge mistake and for listening to their fans and going back for a retool. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/exorcist-raises-alarm-rapidly-spreading-death-cult-tied-notable-increase-demonic-activity-possession\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vestments<\/a> are not a costume for entertainment purposes. While not used by all Christian denominations, vestments do refer to sacred things and shouldn\u2019t be treated as trivialities.<\/p>\n<p>The sooner the West remembers that sacred things are sacred for a reason and that they should be treated as such, the sooner our cultural collapse will slow\u2026 and maybe even reverse.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<div>\n<p><b><i>An Important Message from Our Staff:<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>In just a few months, the world is going to change forever. The 2024 election is the single most important election of our lifetime. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>We here at The Western Journal are committed to covering it in a way the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/caitlin-clark-lands-historic-nike-shoe-deal-worth-millions-just-before-her-rookie-season-kicks-off\/\" title=\"Caitlin Clark Secures Multi-Million Dollar Nike Deal Ahead of Rookie Season Kickoff\">establishment media simply<\/a> will not: We will tell the truth, and they will lie.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>But Big Tech and the elites don\u2019t want the truth out. That\u2019s why they have cut us off from 90% of advertisers. Imagine if someone cut your monthly income by 90%. That\u2019s what they\u2019ve done to people like us. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>As a staff, we are asking you to <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>join us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  to fight this once-in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-forced-to-cancel-rally-devastated-by-whats-coming-im-so-sorry-god-be-with-you\/\" title=\"Trump expresses deep regret and cancels rally, sending heartfelt apologies and prayers\">-a-lifetime fight<\/a>. Without you not only will The Western Journal fail, but America will fail also. As Benjamin Franklin said, \u201cWe must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Will you support The Western Journal today and <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>become a member<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>? <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>A Western Journal <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Membership<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  costs less than one coffee and breakfast sandwich each month, and it gets you access to ALL of our content \u2014 news, commentary, and premium articles. You\u2019ll experience a radically reduced number of ads, and most importantly you will be vitally supporting the fight for America\u2019s soul in 2024.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><i><span>This is the time. America will live or die based on what happens this year. Please <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>join us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>  to get the real truth out and to fight the elites, Big Tech, and the people who want America to fail. Together, we really can save the country.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Thank you for your support!<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>P.S. <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/subscribe\/?utm_source=site&#038;utm_medium=westernjournalism&#038;utm_campaign=authorpitch\"><i><span>Please stand with us<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span>!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"author-info-43\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/igcolonel\/\">  <\/a> <\/p>\n<div>\n<p><label for=\"summary-tab-radio-43\">Summary<\/label><label for=\"more-info-tab-radio-43\">More<span> Biographical Information<\/span><\/label><label for=\"posts-tab-radio-43\">Recent<span> Posts<\/span><\/label><label for=\"contact-tab-radio-43\" onclick=\"if( typeof grecaptcha=='undefined' ) { let cap_s=document.createElement( 'script' ); cap_s.src='https:\/\/www.google.com\/recaptcha\/api.js?render=6LeJFcsUAAAAAPsIEqvB1EebWbZfqRUe6ebMpGy7'; document.body.appendChild( cap_s ); }\">Contact<\/label><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Warner Todd Huston has been writing editorials and news since 2001 but started his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/byron-donalds-takes-shot-at-host-of-the-view-dares-panel-to-invite-him-on-as-a-guest\/\" title=\"Byron Donalds Takes Shot at Host of 'The View,' Dares Panel to Invite Him On as a Guest\">writing career penning articles<\/a> about U.S. history back in the early 1990s. Huston has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN and several local Chicago news programs to discuss the issues of the day. Additionally, he is a regular guest on radio programs from coast to coast. Huston has also been a Breitbart News contributor since 2009. Warner works out of the Chicago area, a place he calls a &#8220;target-rich environment&#8221; for political news. Follow him on Truth Social at @WarnerToddHuston.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  Warner Todd Huston has been writing editorials and news since 2001 but started his writing career penning articles about U.S. history back in the early 1990s. Huston has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN and several local Chicago news programs to discuss the issues of the day. Additionally, he is a regular guest on radio programs from coast to coast. Huston has also been a Breitbart News contributor since 2009. Warner works out of the Chicago area, a place he calls a &#8220;target-rich environment&#8221; for political news. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Catholic Answers faced criticism for launching an AI &#8216;Priest&#8217; named &#8220;Father Justin,&#8221; swiftly retracting the title due to public uproar over a particular feature<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":180,"featured_media":2232205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/father-justin-for-april-26-2024.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[548],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2232204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-conservative-news-daily"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/father-justin-for-april-26-2024.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/180"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2232204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2232204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2232205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2232204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2232204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2232204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}