For Pope2You, a Pope-Less Launch

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Eucharisted

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On Sunday’s World Communications Day, somebody behind the walls flipped a switch and threw open the doors to Pope2You, the Holy See’s Web 2.0 portal.

Even so, the moment marked yet another blown opportunity by the Vatican media shop, and even upwards – if they were really serious about the new venture, the launch honors would’ve been done by B16 himself.

Sure, he takes pride in being the “Pope of Words,” but into his pontificate’s fifth year, while shots exist of Joseph Ratzinger tickling the ivories in the white robes, speaking to the press at 35,000 feet, examining manuscripts at the Vatican Library and appearing in the studios (above) of Vatican Radio (itself launched by a Pope in 1931), never once has the reigning pontiff been captured at a keyboard – ergo, for all his newfound bullishness on the import of new technology, the message will ring hollow until a laptop appears, even fleetingly, on the Apartment’s main desk and the world gets to see it.

Read the rest here: whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2009/05/for-pope2you-pope-less-launch.html
 
I would agree with that. I am glad the Vatican is using more of the available media like youtube. I have really enjoyed using these sites. That said, I think it would be great to have the Pope put out a video that was more personal once in awhile on youtube or facebook. Not a message for the ages that people will be studying, but just a quick more personal video.
 
kennewickmike said:
I would agree with that. I am glad the Vatican is using more of the available media like youtube. I have really enjoyed using these sites. That said, I think it would be great to have the Pope put out a video that was more personal once in awhile on youtube or facebook. Not a message for the ages that people will be studying, but just a quick more personal video.
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The Vatican does have its own Youtube channel:

youtube.com/user/vatican?blend=2&ob=4
 
I believe that it would be nice to see the Holy Father write one or two simple spiritual lines. Howevever, I don’t expect this to happen for several reasons.
  1. Benedict XVI is not an expert in Mystical or Spiritual Theology. That is not an area in which he feels very comfortable. That was more John Paul’s area of theology. Benedict is a Systematic Theologian.
  2. Our Holy Father is a scholar and it is much easier for him to speak in scholarly jargon than in popular language.
  3. From what I know about him, he does not really like direct contact with the public. He is very shy. It takes a lot out of him to speak to the common man one on one. Some of our friars work in the Vatican and they say that he is always very shy, but gets very excited when he can have a philosophical or theological debate with someone and speculate on this and that. His book Jesus of Nazareth is speculative theology. He even says so in the introduction. He does not write it as doctrine to be beleived, but as commentary based on his research on the life of Jesus. This is what he likes. I don’t think most people want to hear speculative theology on the internet, unless they’re in an academic mood.
  4. Based on what he said after he lifted Bishop Williamson’s excommunication, I don’t think that he really understands the internet. He seems to be getting a better grasp of it now, after he was told that Williamson’s position was all over the internet. He even said so in his letter to the bishops. Now he seems to have become more interested in using this medium for evangelization. But I don’t think that he meant that he would use it personally, but for others to do so.
  5. Yes, he does carry a laptop with him where ever he goes. He does a great deal of research and a great deal of writing. Though rumor has it that he writes using long hand and has his secretary word process his work. I don’t know this first hand, only through rumors.
Fraternally,

JR
 
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