FOLLOWING the latest school shooting incident in the country, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, called on families to take charge of forming the hearts of their children.
Speaking during Mass at the Parish Church of the Holy Sacrifice at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City, Tagle said the guidance of elders can help today's youth develop compassionate hearts.
"To all grandparents and parents, please show the children what it means to have a compassionate heart," Tagle said.
"Games and AI have no heart; only humans do," he added.
The pro-prefect of the Vatican's Dicastery for Evangelization said he issued the call because he is not in favor of today's youth relying too much on technology and gadgets.
He said it is unacceptable for young people to depend too heavily on gadgets and technology, which he described as "heartless."
"Their hearts are being guided by video games and AI—systems that teach them how to make decisions and act. Yet, AI has no heart. Games have no heart," he said.
"Why do we sell our hearts to heartless machines? And then, we act surprised when people seem to lack the heart," Tagle added.
Earlier this week, a high school student at Ateneo de Zamboanga University shot and killed a fellow student before taking his own life.
It was the second fatal school shooting incident in the Philippines in less than two months. The first occurred in Tacloban City and also involved students. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
