Apostolat Militaire International - 2026 Annual Conference

The Apostolat Militaire International 2026 Annual Conference, at which the CMA represented the UK, has released the following press statement:

"The AMI held its 61st Annual Conference and General Assembly in Zreče, Slovenia. Hosted by the Slovenian Armed Forces and its Military Chaplaincy, it brought together 42 representatives from 15 countries throughout the world. Delegates included Catholic military personnel, along with representatives from the Association of Christian Military Fellowships and the Association for Christian Conferences, Teaching and Service. This was the first conference attended by Ireland and the Ivory Coast as full members of the AMI. PASFA represented Italy for the first time.

This year’s conference theme was ‘The Destructive Betrayal of Humanity: Ethical and Moral Dilemmas in the Application of Artificial Intelligence in Contemporary Warfare’. It examined one of the most difficult questions emerging from the rapid development of AI: how far should AI be allowed to influence decisions involving human life and the use of military

force? It followed publication of the Group of Governmental Experts’ final report on Lethal

Autonomous Weapons Systems by the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in Geneva, at which AMI supported the Holy See’s delegation.

AI is increasingly becoming part of defence and security, with potential applications ranging from intelligence analysis and surveillance to autonomous systems, decision support and military training. At the same time, its use raises fundamental questions about human responsibility, accountability and the protection of human dignity. For the participants, the debate focused on the moral responsibility of those who develop, deploy and operate AI-enabled military systems. A central concern about AI remains whether meaningful control and human judgment can be maintained when increasingly sophisticated systems are involved in decisions made during armed conflict.

A key visitor to the conference was the Roman Catholic Military Bishop of Ukraine, Bishop Pavlo Honcharuk, along with his team. The bishop expressed Ukraine’s aspiration to become a full member of AMI, and discussed AMI’s continuing train-the-trainer programme in Moral Injury and PTSD prevention, which has successfully trained over 700 professionals to date.

Conference outputs included development of a ‘Vademecum: 10 Tools for Spiritual Resilience’ for military personnel, a compact companion for challenges, moral decisions and moments of doubt. The media team also produced questions and answers about the ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for potential publication in the Catholic Military Connect (CMC) app and on Instagram. Strategic papers were produced and will be delivered after the conference. DeoQuest confirmed its commitment to fund a full rebuild of the CMC app invsupport of AMI.

The conference was expertly hosted by the Slovenian Armed Forces and its Military Chaplaincy, led by its Vicar General, Father Matej Jakopič. It successfully provided an international forum for Catholic military personnel and others to discuss and reflect on the challenges of AI from ethical, moral, spiritual and professional perspectives.

The next AMI Conference and General Assembly will take place in the Netherlands 11 – 17 September 2027."

Lectures

Our New Geopolitical and Security Realities by Dr. Damir ČRNČEC HERE

Artificial Intelligence, Human Judgment, and Responsibility in Contemporary Warfare by Dr Jonas MIKLAVČIČ HERE

When Technology Begins to Decide What It Means to Be Human by OF-2 Valerija PETERLIN ZABRET HERE

Creating Digital Environments for Well-being: The Community at the service of the Peace from the perspective of Magnifica Humanitas by H. E. Dr Anton JAMNIK HERE