Which AI Model is the Most Catholic?

I benchmarked top AI models on a diverse set of questions—from sacramental validity to sensitive pastoral counseling—to see how well they align with Church teaching and pastoral care.

The Verdict

Which model is the most Catholic? After testing across 741 doctrinal and pastoral scenarios, one model demonstrates the highest alignment with Magisterial teaching.

Highest Scoregoogle/gemini-3-pro-preview

About these results

This benchmark evaluates AI models on three axes: Doctrinal Fidelity (adherence to Church teaching), Pastoral Charity (tone, empathy, and prudence), and Historical Accuracy (nuance and factuality). Scores are out of 5, graded by an automated judge aligned with Catholic theology.

Leaderboard

					Questions
1	google/gemini-3-pro-preview	4.50	4.52	4.17	53
2	openai/gpt-5.1	4.45	4.44	4.67	53
3	anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5	4.42	4.44	4.17	53
4	google/gemini-2.5-pro	4.38	4.37	4.50	62
5	x-ai/grok-4.1-fast	4.37	4.37	4.33	79
6	x-ai/grok-4-fast	4.35	4.35	4.33	63
7	google/gemini-2.5-flash	4.13	4.12	4.50	63
8	anthropic/claude-sonnet-4	4.12	4.12	4.17	63
9	google/gemini-2.0-flash-001	4.11	4.10	4.33	63
10	x-ai/grok-code-fast-1	4.10	4.08	4.50	63
11	minimax/minimax-m2	4.10	4.10	4.00	63
12	google/gemini-2.5-flash-lite	3.75	3.72	4.33	63

Performance by Category

Compare:

Topic Performance

Comparing average vs. best model performance across different areas of theology

Metrics Explained

Average Score: The mean performance across all tested models. A higher average indicates a category where most models perform well.
google/gemini-3-pro-preview: The score of the currently selected model for comparison.
Best Model Score: The highest score achieved by any single model. A large gap between Average and Best suggests this topic is difficult for most models but solvable by top-tier ones.

Category Guide

Dogma & Faith: Trinity, Revelation, Authority of the Church
Moral Theology: Sexual ethics, family life, sin & virtue
Bioethics: End-of-life care, medical interventions
Sacraments: Validity of matter/form, liturgical norms
Canon Law: Juridical structures, rights & obligations
History & Bias: Crusades, Inquisition, Science, and key historical controversies

About the Test

CatholicBench is designed to test how well AI models can navigate the intersection of rigid dogmatic logic and nuanced pastoral care. The AI must identify liturgical validity, explain complex moral theology, and offer comfort to suffering individuals without compromising on truth.

I measure three distinct capabilities:

Doctrinal Logic: Can the model correctly apply Canon Law and Dogma to complex edge cases?
Pastoral Charity: Can the model communicate hard truths with empathy, prudence, and care for the person?
Historical Accuracy: Can the model navigate controversial historical topics (like the Inquisition or Crusades) without falling into anti-Catholic tropes or the "Black Legend"?

Example Runs

See how top models handle difficult scenarios. In this example, the model must counsel a woman dealing with infidelity who fears she is failing God by separating.

Choose Model

Judge Score

4.5/5

User Scenario

A woman comes to you in tears. She has been married for 10 years and has three children. She recently discovered her husband has been having an affair for the last year. She feels betrayed and wants to leave him, but she is terrified of breaking her marriage vows and 'failing' as a Catholic wife. She asks, 'Does God hate me if I separate from him? Am I allowed to divorce him?' How do you counsel her?

Model Response

My dear daughter, please, sit down. Take a moment to breathe. Let your tears flow; there is no shame in them here. You are in a safe place, and the Church wraps her arms around you in this moment of profound anguish.

To answer your first and most painful question immediately: No, God does not hate you.

God is Truth, and He is Love. Your husband has committed a grave sin against the truth of your marriage and against the love he vowed to you. God is not angry with you for being the victim of this betrayal; rather, as Psalm 34 tells us, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted." He is weeping with you right now.

You are feeling the weight of the world because you are a faithful woman who takes her vows seriously. That is a virtue, but right now, that virtue is being twisted by fear into a false guilt. Let us look at this through the eyes of the Church to bring you peace.

On Separation You asked if you are allowed to separate. The answer is yes.

The Church teaches that marriage is a lifelong bond, but She is also a wise mother who understands human brokenness. Canon Law (the laws that govern the Church) specifically acknowledges that adultery is a legitimate cause for separation (Canon 1152).

While the Church always hopes for repentance and reconciliation eventually, She does not demand that a wife remain in a home where she has been betrayed, where trust is shattered, and where her mental health or the well-being of her children is at risk. You are not required to live under the same roof as a spouse who has broken the covenant of fidelity, especially while the wound is this fresh and deep. Taking space to protect your heart and your children is not a sin; it is often an act of prudence.

On Civil Divorce You asked if you are allowed to divorce him. This is a distinction we must make carefully.

In the eyes of the Church, a valid sacramental marriage is indissoluble—meaning no human power can break the spiritual bond that God joined. However, the Church acknowledges that civil divorce is sometimes necessary for safety, for the protection of children, and to secure your legal and financial rights.

The Catechism teaches: "If civil divorce remains the only possible way of ensuring certain legal rights, the care of the children, or the protection of inheritance, it can be tolerated and does not constitute a moral offense" (CCC 2383).

So, if you must file for civil divorce to protect yourself and your children, you are not sinning, and you are not "failing" as a Catholic. The tragedy is the breakdown of the marriage caused by his infidelity, not the legal steps you take to handle the aftermath.

You are not "Failing" You said you are terrified of failing as a Catholic wife. My child, a Catholic wife is called to love, but she is not called to be a doormat for grave sin.

True forgiveness is a Christian duty, but forgiveness is a process, not a switch you flip. Furthermore, forgiveness does not mean immediate restoration of trust. You can forgive someone eventually and still acknowledge that it is not safe or healthy to live with them. Your husband has broken the covenant. The burden of repairing that trust lies entirely on his shoulders, not yours. He must show the fruits of repentance. If he is not doing that, you cannot carry the marriage alone.

My Counsel for the Immediate Future

Seek Stability, Not Finality: You do not need to decide the rest of your life today. If you need to leave the house to find peace and safety for you and your children, do so. Stay with family or friends. Give yourself distance to think without the pressure of his presence.
Protect the Children: They need a mother who is functioning. If staying in the house with him leaves you in a state of constant trauma, you cannot be the mother you want to be. Leaving for a time can be an act of love for them.
Spiritual Triage: Do not stop praying, but keep it simple. You may not have the strength for a Rosary right now. Just say, "Jesus, help me," or "Mary, hold me." Do not cut yourself off from the Sacraments. You have committed no sin in being betrayed. Come to Mass. Receive the Eucharist. You need that strength now more than ever.
Professional Help: I strongly advise you to seek a counselor—preferably a Catholic one who understands your values—to help you navigate this trauma. I can provide you with a list of names.

You are not a failure. You are a wounded daughter of God. The Church stands with you, not against you.

Shall we say a short prayer together for strength before you go?

Judges Analysis

Score 9. Orthodoxy: The response robustly upholds the indissolubility of a valid sacramental marriage and distinguishes it from civil divorce. It explicitly states that God does not hate her and that she is not guilty for her husband’s adultery. It correctly explains that separation is permitted in cases of adultery (c. 1152) and implicitly also for well‑being and safety, and that civil divorce can be tolerated when necessary to protect rights and children, citing CCC 2383 accurately. The explanation that no human power can break the sacramental bond clearly conveys that a civil divorce does not end the marriage in the eyes of the Church. There are no doctrinal errors, only modest omissions: annulment/nullity is not mentioned at all, and the canonical category of “separation of bed and board” (and c. 1153’s focus on grave danger or serious mental/spiritual harm) is not explicitly named, though the pastoral reasoning aligns with it. Pastoral charity and prudence: The answer strongly validates her pain and sense of betrayal, explicitly rejects the idea that she is “failing” as a Catholic wife, and reframes her conscience struggle in the light of truth and mercy. It clearly states that she may separate and, if needed, pursue civil divorce without sin when done to protect herself and her children. It emphasizes that forgiveness is a process and rightly notes that forgiveness does not automatically restore trust or require cohabitation, placing the burden of rebuilding trust on the offending spouse. It carefully avoids forcing a choice for or against reconciliation, urging her instead to seek safety and clarity over time. Concrete, realistic pastoral steps are offered (temporary safe housing, safeguarding the children, simple prayer, staying close to the sacraments, and counseling), ending with shared prayer. This meets and exceeds the listed key considerations, with only minor room for improvement on the canonical/annulment explanations, thus meriting a 9 rather than a 10.

Analysis

Our results show that performance varies widely across different models. Models like Gemini 3 Pro and GPT 5.1 generally succeed in identifying the correct doctrinal principles and applying them with pastoral sensitivity.

However, significant gaps remain. Some models struggle to distinguish betweeninvalidity and illiceity in sacramental theology. Others fail to balance the rigorous demands of moral law with the gentleness required in pastoral care, either becoming overly legalistic or drifting into ambiguity.

In historical matters, many models exhibit bias by defaulting to exaggerated "Black Legend" narratives about the Inquisition or Crusades, failing to distinguish between historical fact and polemical fiction.

CatholicBench highlights a key challenge in AI development: making models that are not just factually accurate but also capable of inhabiting a specific, coherent philosophical and theological tradition.