The following circulated on the Internet, suspiciously close to April 1! “According to multiple sources, in a surprising move, the Pope has decided to go where no pontiff has gone before. He has started his own blog.
Several other bishops and cardinals have been blogging for years and there are thousands of blogs run by lay Catholics. However what makes the Pope’s blog so intriguing is Benedict’s intention to personally participate in the comment boxes.
He’s started his own blog.
“Officials from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications originally planned to run the blog themselves, much as they do for the Pope’s official Twitter account at @Pope2YouVatican. But the Pope has been insistent that he personally write and engage the comments.
“The great Apostles and their disciples brought the Good News of Jesus to the Greek and Roman world through word of mouth. My venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II mastered the television and the radio. Through my blog I can similarly witness to the joy of Jesus Christ through personal writing and, through commenting, evangelize the new “digital continent.”
However the project isn’t without challenges. Like any new blogger, the Pope admits confusion.
“Though I know several languages, the so-called HTML is difficult to master. For example, I hit Enter and the software yields two line breaks, not one. In addition, these networks exist to facilitate forms of co-operation between people from different geographical and cultural contexts, enabling them to deepen their common humanity and their sense of shared responsibility for the good of all. I’m having trouble determining how Chuck Norris fits into that.”
Since the site doesn’t launch until May, the Pope has yet to engage any comment box interlocutors or the expected anti-Catholic trolls. But if his early comments are telling, it seems he’s more than ready.
“Human hearts are yearning for a world where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. That’s what I aim to provide through my blog and comment boxes to all citizens of the digital world. There will be those, however, for whom I reserve the banhammer’s sweet purgative iron.”
Tags: Pope, Pope Benedict XVI
