From birds, to the telegraph, to landline telephones which have evolved into cellular technology devices, and ultimately the Internet giving birth to a cyber existence – humans have transformed the way they communicate from vast distances.
The ever-expanding sea of technology not only expands creating new means of communication, but in the process swallows the old — demanding change, leaving no choice to humans but to change with it, or be swallowed into the depths of societal isolation. No longer is it just your boss sending an email with instructions for your next project, or your girlfriend texting you while you read messages from your Facebook friends –now the leader of the Catholic world Pope Benedict XVI may be replying to one of your tweets.
According to the Vatican, On Dec. 3 Pope Benedict XVI will officially provide his own Twitter account for the world to follow. There are millions of twitter users, with thousands creating accounts daily; however, being the leader of the Catholic world does come with its perks – one of them being promotion.
Although not new to tweeting, back in June 2011, through the Vatican’s www.news.va website, Pope Benedict XVI sent out his first ever tweet; “Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedict XVI.”, however, the Pope never owned a personal Twitter account.
On Dec. 3 the public announcement of Pope Benedict XVI’s personal Twitter account will be made by the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, and a host of other members from the Vatican’s communications department. The Pope’s username will not be known until the announcement.
[ Related: Pope Benedict XVI opens Twitter account ]
Twitter is not the only social networking cyber vehicle being used by the Vatican to communicate its messages to the Catholic masses – it has also created several Facebook and Youtube accounts, encouraging the Catholic faithful to do the same; for the purpose of developing positive relationships among themselves and others.
Furthering their cyber communication efforts is the Vatican approved iPhone app known as the Confession app, which a spokesperson from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales supports by saying; “The Church believes in embracing new technology and this creative app will hopefully help people to make a good confession.”
[ Related: Catholic church gives blessing to iPhone app ]
It is known that the 86-year-old Pope Benedict XVI is not a cyber aficionado, personally keying away on a computer to send emails, or sliding images on an IPad while surfing the web – for these tasks, he employs Vatican staff; which more than likely means he will be dictating and approving Tweets, rather than try and type the 140 character message himself.
Not only has technology brought people closer together, creating social networks used global wide, but it seems to have also narrowed the gap between science and religion, helping the two in understanding the need and importance of co-existing for the betterment of humankind.
