Question: Can an artificial intelligence program licitly receive the sacrament of holy orders? And regardless, what role do you think AI might be able to play in catechesis, if any? (Bridgeport, CT) Answer: No, an artificial intelligence program cannot receive the sacrament of holy orders (or any other sacrament, for that matter). Sacraments can only be received by humans, as only human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, and therefore only human beings are capable of becoming more closely configured to Christ, healed and redeemed from sins or ordained to serve God’s people as an image of Christ in the sacramental priesthood. In contrast, an artificial intelligence program is fundamentally just a very sophisticated computer application.…