Not Even AI Can Save Us Now
When I was a senior in college, one of my professors told me, “If you want to find a good translation of the Bible in English, you can find it in one that contains the word ‘verily.’” Of course, that was back in 1982, when it would have taken a fair bit of legwork on my part to even identify the various biblical translations that contain the word “verily.” It would have taken even more effort to ascertain whether, individually or collectively, those translations were superior to others.
Jump ahead a few decades, and, thanks to the miracle of search engines, it would be a trifle to pull together a list of Bible translations containing the word “verily.” Nonetheless, I would still have to put in the effort to ascertain the merits of such translations, assuming that I was capable of making such judgments. Nowadays, however, thanks to the emergence of artificial intelligence, I can make a request for both the list and the evaluation of translations with and without “verily” and have all the work done for me in almost no time at all. What progress!
I mention these things to make a point—namely, that not even artificial intelligence can find what is not there. Let me offer an illustration. Our Lord concludes the parable of the wicked tenants with these words: “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the fruits of the kingdom” (Matthew 21:44 NRSVCE)
What happens to those who do not produce fruit in due season? Nothing good. Not even artificial intelligence, scouring all of Sacred Scripture in all translations in all languages, can find a psalm or canticle that praises the fruitless. Nowhere in Scripture, not even with the aid of artificial intelligence, will we find anything like this:
All ye barren branches, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye orchards without fruit, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye vines lacking grapes, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye fig trees bearing no figs, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye wheat fields producing no harvest, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye nets with no fish, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye bridesmaids with lamps but no oil, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye salt without savor, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye lights placed beneath a bushel basket, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye talents buried in the earth, praise and exalt Him forever.
All ye fruitless, feckless, and witless, to them be highest glory and praise forever.
Instead, such a scriptural search will show that the fruitless are gathered up to be burned (John 15:6). And there are related references to darkness, as well as wailing and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12). What is not fruitful according to the divine mandate does not end well (Matthew 21:18-19).
Such images are on my mind because of recently released data illustrating the demographic collapse of the Catholic Church in the United States. From 1999-2022, the yearly number of adult Catholics coming into the Church in the United States has declined 58 percent. A recent Pew study indicates that for every 100 adults coming into the Church in the United States, 800 people leave.
Now, before we ask, “What can be done about this?” we may have to ask, “Can we even talk about this at all?” After all, denial is deeply rooted in bureaucracies. And let’s not forget McTeigue’s Axiom: “Most institutions would rather die than admit to having made a mistake.” After “the New Springtime” to “the Second Pentecost” to “Renew!” to “the New Evangelization” to “Eucharistic Revival,” and now, most recently, to “Synodality” and the newly mandated “Synodality Forever!” this is where we are. Somewhere out there, at least two Catholic members of the People Who Should Really Know Better Club are looking at these numbers and saying to each other, “I don’t know why this is happening. We had all those meetings!”
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