On December 12, Pope Benedict, like no other pope, opened himself up to the world on Twitter. Twitter is a disruptive technology; it challenges, changes and threatens. Introducing the pope to Twitter was always likely to involve some risk. But, however, we are told the Vatican understands the risk and remains hopeful the involvement on Read more
At 30, Claire Diaz-Ortiz already has a pretty impressive resume. She works as the Manager of Social Innovation at Twitter, founded a charity to help orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa and literally wrote the book on how to use social networking for philanthropy. But last week she added something rather special to her curriculum vitae: Read more
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI launched his own Twitter feed this week (Dec. 3) to worldwide media coverage — it’s hard to resist the story of an octogenarian pontiff mixing it up with the digerati — and to considerable acclaim from church insiders. The praise was understandable. After the spate of missteps that have Read more
Spokesman of the National Syrian Council (SNC) George Sabra welcomed the statements made by Pope Benedict XVI who is on a 3 -day visit to Lebanon . Sabra told Voice of Lebanon radio station (VOL) : The Pope’s statement on Syria was a pleasant surprise and we the Syrian Christians are a part of the Read more
The Vatican publishing house has reached agreement with Apple to make the works of Pope Benedict XVI available in electronic form, accessible to a variety of high-tech devices. The Libreria Editrice Vaticana will work with Apple to produce eBooks and i-Tunes containing the Pope’s catechetical talks from his Wednesday public audiences. A series on “Prayer Read more
Only the truth behind the Vatileaks scandal can free the Catholic Church. It has all the makings of a Hollywood adaptation of a Dan Brown novel. Secrets of the Vatican exposed, documents stolen from the Pope’s desk, rows and rivalries between cardinals, vast sums of money, the involvement of the cultish organisation Opus Dei. And Read more
The father of the Pope’s personal assistant, who is in custody after stolen Vatican documents were found in his home, has said he hopes his son’s “sacrifice” will help the Church rid itself of corruption. Andrea Gabriele described his son Paolo as a person of “absolute honesty . . . great generosity and moral integrity” Read more
The mood at the Vatican is apocalyptic. Pope Benedict XVI seems tired, and both unable and unwilling to seize the reins amid fierce infighting and scandal. While Vatican insiders jockey for power and speculate on his successor, Joseph Ratzinger has withdrawn to focus on his still-ambiguous legacy. Finally, there is clarity. The Holy See has Read more
At the end of today’s General Audience in the Paul VI hall, the Pope, who has been following the news of the terrorist attacks in Nigeria – particularly against Christians – with deep concern, said he called upon the perpetrators to stop the bloodshed of innocent people immediately, to give up acts of revenge and Read more
Pope Benedict XVI is getting a briefing from the three cardinals he appointed in April to investigate a series of leaked Vatican documents that have cast the top governance of the Catholic Church in a poor light. The cardinals were given a broad mandate to interview Vatican officials across the board to get to the Read more