Inaugural Catholic Education Congress on Artificial Intelligence
11 August 2026
Leading with care, ethics and moral clarity in a digital era
Mary MacKillop Place, North Sydney
Proactive leadership in a digital era
Artificial intelligence is no longer on the horizon for Australian classrooms - it is already inside them, actively shaping how students learn and teachers work. The critical question is no longer when to adopt these tools, but how to guide them ethically.
For the Catholic education sector, this rapid technological integration presents a vital window of opportunity. Rather than reacting to digital changes after they occur, establishing a clear, nationally consistent governance framework now ensures that schools can confidently adopt these tools. By taking proactive steps today, the sector can protect student data privacy and guide technological progress to enhance, rather than replace, the human-centric relationships at the heart of learning.
This pivotal summit is hosted by CEnet at the request of the Australian Catholic Bishops on behalf of the broader Catholic education community. This collaborative national initiative aims to provide a unified voice to guide school communities move forward.
Inspired by wisdom, driven by mission
To build an ethical framework, the Congress draws on two rich sources of guidance, blending modern Catholic social teaching with the historical foundations of Catholic education in Australia:
1. Dialogue and Human Dignity: Magnifica Humanitas
The theological and moral foundations of the Congress are directly inspired by His Holiness Pope Leo XIV’s recent Encyclical Letter, Magnifica Humanitas. The Encyclical calls on Catholic institutions to safeguard human dignity in an increasingly digital world, ensuring technology always serves the common good.
2. The Spirit of Saint Mary MacKillop
Meeting at Mary MacKillop Place in North Sydney, just days after celebrating her Feast Day on 8 August, delegates draw inspiration from Australia’s first saint and pioneering educator. We carry forward her famous guiding motto: "Never see a need and not do anything about it."
Recognising the immediate need for safe, ethical digital spaces, the Catholic education community is actively stepping up to provide leadership and clarity in this rapidly changing technological landscape.
A collaborative, national effort
The single-day Congress brings together 40 selected delegates from diverse professional backgrounds - including Catholic school leaders, theologians, ethicists and technology experts - to participate in highly focused workshop sessions.
The Working Agenda:
Context & Theological Framing: Examining current digital opportunities and risks while grounding AI adoption in Catholic Social Teaching.
Drafting the Governance Framework: Collaborative table discussions uniting technical and theological experts to define the scope, functions, and ethical limits of AI oversight.
Deep-Dive Strategy: Refining key positions around human agency, technological feasibility, and Church governance structures.
Implementation Roadmap: Establishing priority actions, early pilot initiatives, and immediate governance milestones for the next 12 months.
Building a shared blueprint for Catholic schools
The primary output of the Congress’s proceedings will be a comprehensive Draft AI Governance Framework for Catholic Education. This draft will feature structured national recommendations and concrete milestones for ongoing oversight across our networks.
This page will be updated with key insights and findings from the Draft Framework as they are prepared for national review.
"Our goal is to build an educational landscape where technological progress serves the common good without reducing the human person to raw data or performance metrics. As AI rapidly transforms learning and society, Catholic education must lead with a clear moral compass rooted in dialogue, responsibility, and care for the individual."
— Mr Patrick Cooper, CEnet Board Member & Congress Facilitator