New pope can still be @pontifex on Twitter

The Vatican has dispelled claims that Pope Benedict XVI’s “Pontifex” Twitter account will be shut down permanently, clarifying that it “will be available for use by the next Pope as he may wish.”

Monsignor Paul Tighe, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said Feb. 23 the Twitter account was created for the Pope’s “exclusive use.”

In a statement published by Vatican Radio, he said the account will be inactive during the interim “sede vacante” period between the Feb. 28 resignation of Pope Benedict and the election of a new Pope.

Many media outlets misinterpreted an earlier account from Vatican Radio and reported that the Vatican would be shutting down its ten-week-old effort on the social media site.

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