Bishop Varden on hope, AI, patience — and not weaponizing Christianity
Bishop Erik Varden of Trondheim visited St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore on May 7, 2026. He was chosen by Pope Leo XIV to preach at the Vatican’s annual Lenten retreat, where he spoke on the theme “Illuminated by a Hidden Glory.” In the interview, Varden discussed hope, patience, and the responsible use of AI, urging Christians not to weaponize the faith. The article includes a photo of Varden with Pope Leo and links to an audio interview on OSV Newscast.
5 months ago
Bishop Erik Varden, a Trappist monk and bishop of Trondheim, spoke to OS V News during a visit to St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore. He linked the theme of “hope” from his Lenten retreat for Pope Leo XIV with a critique of Nordic noir stereotypes, a call for authentic community, deep skepticism about AI’s spiritual role, and a warning against turning the Gospel into a political weapon. He emphasized patience, truth‑in‑love, and thorough study of Scripture as foundations for a hopeful, Christ‑centered life 1.
Varden noted that outsiders often imagine the North as a perpetual darkness of despair, yet Norwegian summers are marked by intense light and a cultural celebration of spring, poetry, and music. He argued that the popularity of “Nordic noir” exploits this stereotype rather than reflecting everyday reality 1.
He warned against two extremes: glorifying personal wounds or erasing them completely. Recognizing that “being wounded is the human norm” allows believers to hope for healing and to extend compassion toward others.
Varden described a parish study day in Trondheim where diverse participants shared meals, prayer, and conversation without phones, illustrating how intellectual, spiritual, and social nourishment together foster genuine community 1.
The bishop expressed profound doubt that AI can generate true spiritual renewal, describing it as a tool at best for efficiency but incapable of piercing the human heart. He sees no hope for AI as an agent of conversion, though it may aid in practical tasks 1.
Varden condemned the instrumental use of the Gospel for cultural, ideological, or political ends, calling such attempts “suspect” and bordering on heresy. He urged a Christ‑centered focus that lives out the Cross through reconciliation and forgiveness rather than rhetoric or hate speech 1.
He highlighted patience as an unfashionable yet essential virtue, contrasting the modern expectation of instant gratification with the “drawn‑out” nature of human life and spiritual growth. Varden cited St. John Henry Newman to stress that great things require time, and he called for deeper scriptural study and sacramental participation to sustain hope 1.
Examine Catholic teachings on technology, hope, and ethical stewardship
Catholic teaching treats technology as morally accountable activity (not a neutral force), hope as a theological virtue that steadies human action amid suffering and uncertainty, and ethical stewardship as participation in God’s rule over creation—so that technical power serves the dignity of persons and the good of the whole world.
Catholic moral theology insists that the legitimacy of tools depends on their ends and effects, not merely on technical capability. The International Theological Commission states that “Neither science nor technology are ends in themselves,” and that “what is technically possible is not necessarily also reasonable or ethical.” Science and technology must be “put in the service of the divine design for the whole of creation.”
In other words, Catholic ethics does not treat technological development as self-justifying progress. It asks: Does this technology serve the good of persons and creation as God intends?
The same document frames stewardship under divine judgment: “The steward must render an account of his stewardship.” This means that technical decision-making (research goals, deployment, governance, and risk) belongs to moral responsibility.
The Commission explicitly connects stewardship with a participation in God’s governance: stewardship is “a stewardship exercised by way of participation in the divine rule.” It also notes that humans exercise stewardship by “guarding their own biological integrity,” which grounds a moral caution around technologies that threaten the human person’s bodily and moral good.
The 2025 doctrinal note on AI (in the excerpt provided) anchors its discussion in the larger Catholic framework of stewardship and human participation in divine governance of creation. It also draws lines to prior magisterial and conciliar teaching (e.g., Gaudium et Spes and related citations embedded in the note).
Even though the excerpt does not supply detailed AI-specific norms, the key Catholic principle it highlights is clear: AI-related choices must still be evaluated according to whether they serve the divine design and human good, rather than being treated as morally self-validating.
Sources for this section: ITC, Communion and Stewardship §61; Dicastery/DDF note on AI (excerpted footnote context).
Pope John Paul II emphasizes that the ecological issue includes moral dimensions. In Pastores gregis, he warns that ecological harm often comes from a lack of respect for life, including when “the interests of production prevail over the dignity of workers” and “economic interests take priority over the good of individuals and even entire peoples.”
He then clarifies that what is needed is not merely “a physical ecology” but “a human ecology, capable of protecting the radical good of life in all its manifestations,” and “leaving behind for future generations an environment which conforms as closely as possible to the Creator’s plan.” This calls for “an ecological conversion.”
So Catholic stewardship is ethical conversion (a change of moral vision and habits), not only technical regulation.
John Paul II also teaches in Ecclesia in Asia that when economic/technological progress is not accompanied by care for the ecosystem, the earth is harmed “with consequent harm to human beings.” He critiques viewing the earth “merely as objects of immediate use and consumption,” “manipulated by an unbridled desire for profit.”
Christians are therefore called to protect creation by restoring “a sense of reverence for the whole of God’s creation,” since God’s will is that humans treat nature “not as a ruthless exploiter but as an intelligent and responsible administrator.”
In the same passage, he stresses that environmental protection is “not only a technical question; it is also and above all an ethical issue.” “All have a moral duty” to care for the environment for both present good and “the good of future generations.” He also emphasizes responsibility among leaders and the need to educate especially the young in environmental responsibility and stewardship.
Stewardship extends beyond ecosystems to the moral treatment of animals. The Catechism teaches: “Animals are entrusted to man’s stewardship; he must show them kindness,” adding that they may be used “to serve the just satisfaction of man’s needs.”
The moral point is that use is not license: it must be ordered to justice and humane care.
Sources for this section: Pastores gregis §70; Ecclesia in Asia §41; CCC 2457.
The Catechism defines the virtue of hope: “The virtue of hope responds to the aspiration to happiness… it keeps man from discouragement; it sustains him during times of abandonment; it opens up his heart in expectation of eternal beatitude.”
Pope Francis further specifies hope as “the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness,” “placing our trust in Christ’s promises,” relying “not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
So Christian hope is Christ-centered and grace-dependent, not simply confidence in human progress.
In the Jubilee bull Spes non confundit, Pope Francis quotes the Second Vatican Council: when people are “deprived” of hope and “lack hope in eternal life,” their “dignity is deeply impaired,” because problems of guilt and suffering “remain unsolved” and people are “frequently thrown into despair.”
Hope, therefore, is ethically relevant: it protects a person’s interior life from nihilism that can corrode responsibility.
The same bull teaches that with hope, time is not “doomed to a dead end or a dark abyss,” but “directed to an encounter with the Lord of glory.”
In the 2024 message for the Care of Creation, Pope Francis adds that hope is “an alternative reading of history and human affairs,” “not illusory, but realistic,” with the realism of faith that sees what is unseen.
Pope Francis describes creation’s “groaning” and hope as steadfastness amid adversity. Christian hope “does not disappoint,” and it sustains endurance through “tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword.”
This matters: Catholic hope does not deny suffering; it interprets suffering within a horizon where perseverance is still meaningful.
Sources for this section: CCC 1818; Francis audience/catechesis on hope (May 8, 2024); Spes non confundit; Francis 2024 Care of Creation message.
Catholic teaching binds technology to stewardship: because neither science nor technology are ends in themselves, technical capability must be assessed by ethical reason and by service to God’s design.
Without this moral framework, technology tends to mirror the failures Pope John Paul II criticizes—where production and profit override the dignity of persons and even entire peoples.
The Catechism explicitly connects hope with freedom from discouragement and abandonment.
And Pope Francis explicitly warns that without hope, the future’s uncertainty makes virtue seem futile.
That matters for stewardship because ecological and ethical reforms are slow, contested, and frequently painful. The 2024 Care of Creation message presents hope as patient perseverance amid the groaning of creation and the tribulations Christians endure.
The ITC connects stewardship to participation in divine rule: stewardship is exercised by participating in God’s governance and is “always subject to it.”
That theological grounding aligns with the ecological conversion John Paul II calls for: protecting creation is “also and above all an ethical issue,” requiring a human ecology that conforms to the Creator’s plan and includes responsibility for future generations.
So stewardship is not only a technical program; it is a moral-spiritual participation in God’s design—supported by hope that resists despair.
Sources for this section: ITC §61; Pastores gregis §70; Spes non confundit; CCC 1818; Francis 2024 Care of Creation message.
Catholic teaching insists that technology must be morally evaluated and governed as a means within stewardship—since what is technically possible is not automatically ethical or reasonable. Ethical stewardship includes protecting life, practicing ecological conversion for the sake of present and future generations, and showing kindness and just, ordered use toward creatures. Hope—a grace-given theological virtue grounded in Christ—prevents discouragement and enables patient action amid suffering, interpreting “groaning” as compatible with realistic perseverance.