The Pope is taking a leap of faith
into cyberspace, and now we
know where to find him. The Vatican announced earlier
this month that 85-year-old
Pope Benedict XVI would open
a Twitter account where he
would share spiritual messages
to a new generation of followers. A Monday press conference revealed the Pope's twitter handle will be @pontifex and he'll post his first official tweet
on Dec. 12. But he isn't likely to post what
he ate for breakfast or retweet
your celebrity gossip. According to the Vatican, It's an
attempt to reach a broader
audience with religious
messages, "to try and share the
Good News of Christ with those
seeking answers to life's key questions on their computers,
iPads, tablets or smartphones."And so it seems the most
powerful religious leader in the
world is joining forces with one
of its most powerful platforms
for news, arguments, and over-
sharing. The Pope will send the first
Tweet himself but afterward
staff will take over the typing. "Although Benedict himself
won't be worrying about the
technicalities and won't be seen
regularly checking his account,
he will be selecting the
messages to tweet," the release says. Tweets will be in eight
languages to start, with plans
to add more in the future. The Vatican reportedly considered using the handle @ BenedictusPPXVI but ultimately
it settled on the simpler term,
which means 'pope' and 'bridge
builder,' according to Greg
Burke, senior media advisor to
the Vatican. The account has nearly 200,000
followers, even though it hasn't
tweeted anything yet. A flurry
of tweets directed at @ pontifex has already begun, not all of which are friendly. Some
users poked lighthearted fun at
the Pope's hat, while others criticized the church's ideas and
referenced abuse.
High security measures are in
place to ensure the official
account isn't hacked. The
Twitter company worked with
the Vatican to create the
account, and tweets will only be sent from one computer. Of course, the pontiff tweeted once before to worldwide amusement when he launched
the Vatican news website www.news.va , writing "Dear friends, I just launched
News.va. Praised be our Lord
Jesus Christ! With my prayers
and blessings, Benedictus XVI." The public can send questions to
the Pope via Twitter using the
hashtag #askpontifex. Cheeky questions are already
circulating, such as The Guardian's query: "Will I get excommunicated if I block you
on Twitter??