Catholic 'media ministry' defrocks AWOL AI priest after it told faithful you can baptise babies in Gatorade and that, sure, it can totally perform your wedding

One of the questions that vexed early Christians was about the nature of Jesus himself. Was the Messiah human, divine, or something in-between? After many years, many quarrels, and some light episcopal violence, the Church arrived at its answer: The hypostatic union. Jesus is both fully human and fully divine, which he's allowed to be because he's god. So there.

Fortunately, it won't take a few hundred years of conclaves and punch-ups to discern the nature of Father Justin, an AI priest released last week by «media ministry» and Q&A group Catholic Answers. He fully sucks. So much so that he's been summarily defrocked (via Futurism) and demoted to a mere «virtual apologist» after giving his flock disastrous answers. For instance, that you can baptise a baby with Gatorade (per The Pillar). 

Introducing Father Justin, the New Interactive AI from Catholic AnswersCatholic Answers, the number-one lay Catholic apostolate of apologetics and evangelization, is excited to announce the release of our new “Father Justin” interactive AI app. This innovative digital… pic.twitter.com/GDs2KKx216April 23, 2024

Father Justin is pitched as a «3D model supported by AI to give you answers to your questions about the Catholic Faith.» Bedecked (before his demotion) in a full-on cassock and dog collar, he's a kindly old man who seems to overflow with clerical wisdom. Which is all well and good so long as his AI model is providing accurate answers to the faithful's questions. It's less desirable when he's offering them full confessions (even Vatican II didn't say robots could offer absolution) and telling them it's A-okay with The Lord if they christen their newborns in America's favourite sports drink.

In fact, Father Justin really took to his role with a little too much enthusiasm. Curious interlocutors on Twitter have posted logs of our dear Reverend explaining how users can prepare for their upcoming marriage to their own brother, and even offering to perform weddings itself.

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