THE TWEET HEARD ROUND THE WORLD

Last updated on: September 8, 2016 at 7:52 pm by Kathy Schiffer

THE TWEET HEARD ROUND THE WORLD 2016-09-08T19:52:01-05:00 Kathy Schiffer

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Unless you’ve just come out from under a rock, you’ve probably seen a story—no, ten stories!—about Pope Benedict’s tweet.

On June 29, the 60th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, the Pope pushed the button on his iPad and—voila!—launched the much anticipated new Vatican website, news.va.

I was among the Catholic bloggers who, at the invitation of the Vatican, attended the May 2 Vatican Blogfest where we were treated to a preview of the multimedia site, then still under development. The crowd in the room, all media-savvy writers and consumers of technology, were impressed by the breadth of the project. Catholic news sources which were effectively linked from news.va included the Fides News Agency, the Holy See’s Press Office, the Vatican Information Service, Vatican Radio and the Vatican television service, CTV.

But there’s more! News.va features live-streaming of papal audiences and events, video footage that will also be featured on the Vatican’s YouTube channel, and links to other social communication sites such as Facebook and Twitter. I found myself muttering, “Banners and links and headlines, oh my! Photos and videos and audio, oh my!”

I was honored to be on the list to receive the Pope’s first tweet—even though I shared that distinction with 31,000 other Catholics from around the world. I was pleased to help spread the good news, “retweeting” Benedict’s message to my friends. Then, I watched the instant replay on the Vatican’s website, watched the Holy Father pause only briefly before he hit that button, and I felt as smug as though he were sending a secret message just to me.

Being Catholic is c-o-o-l!

What Pope Benedict actually said, to me and to all the world, was:

“Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.”

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the Vatican’s quasi-official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. How times have changed since July 1, 1861, when the first issue hit the newsstands! LOR will also be included in its entirety on news.va, as well—making it possible for all Catholic writers—not just large media outlets with a Rome bureau—to quickly access first-hand reports of Church news.

It is a brave new world. And it is a proud moment, to see the Catholic Church step out to use the newest technology to reach both old and young, both her adherents and her detractors. Preachers and missionaries like St. Peter and St. Paul, whose feast we celebrated yesterday, and evangelists like St. Matthew and St. Luke, embraced every means available to them to transmit the gospel message, to tell the Story Which Must Be Told. We must do the same.

There is more to be done. Archbishop Claudio Celli, Prefect of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, expects to restyle the site this fall—for example, offering the portal in other languages. At its opening the site is available only in Italian and English; but there are plans to translate into other languages beginning with Spanish, the moving into French, German and Portuguese.

With the new social media, the Catholic Church can tell her story to eager followers and reticent searchers. Some who perhaps have never visited a church, who have no family or friends to share the truths of scripture, may now—with the click of a mouse—learn about Jesus’ love for them, and how he founded a church and left it here, safeguarding his message. Some may hear for the first time a new perspective on the importance of marriage, or the sanctity of life, or the ethical ramifications of scientific study.

I, for one, am grateful to the Vatican staff who invested so much thought and wisdom and prayer into building this comprehensive site. Please take a few minutes to see what’s going on over there. I think you’re going to like it!

Previous Post

June 26, 2011

On Corpus Christi, A Eucharistic Flash Mob

Next Post

July 1, 2011 Because Jesus Said So, That's Why!

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category #Synod14 Abortion Abstinence Abuse Addiction Adoption Advent Adventure Advertising Aging Agnosticism All Saints Day All Souls Day Amish Anathema Angels Anglican Animals Annulment Annunciation Apocalypse Apologetics Apostles Apostleship of the Sea Apparitions Archangels Archbishop Cordileone Archbishop Dolan Archbishop Vigneron Archeology Architecture Art Art Buchwald Ash Wednesday Assisted Suicide Astronauts Atheism Athletes Babies Baptism Beatification Beauty Bible Biochemistry Bioethics Birds Bishop Lori Bishops Blasphemy Books Canon Law Canonization Capital Punishment Cardinal Burke Cardinal Dolan Cardinal George Caritas Catechesis Catechism of the Catholic Church Catholic Catholic Education Catholic Higher Education Catholic Social Teaching Celibacy Cemeteries Character Charity Chastity Cheapskate Christian Unity Christmas Churches Civil Rights Cloning Comedy Communion of Saints Community Kitchens Confession Confirmation Conscience Consequences Consistory Constitution Contraception Conversion Cooking Councils of the Church Creativity Criminal Justice Cristero War Crucifixion Crystal Cathedral Culture Death Death and Dying Death Penalty Department of Health and Human Services Diaconate Dictatorship of Relativism Dignity Disability Discrimination Dissidence Divorce Doctors of the Church Early Church Fathers Easter Economics Ecumenism Education Encyclicals Environmentalism Episcopal Church Eucharist Euthanasia Evangelism Evangelists Evangelization Evolution Excuses Facebook Faith Families Family Fashion Fasting Fatherhood Federal Government Feminism Fiction Film First Amendment First Communion For Greater Glory Forgiveness Free Speech Friends Friendship Gender Discrimination Germany Gnosticism Good Friday Government Grace Greed Gregorian Calendar Happiness Health Heaven Heresy History Holidays Holiness Hollywood Holy Land Holy Saturday Holy Spirit Holy Week Holy Year Home Sweet Home Homosexuality Hope Humanism Humility Humor Imagination Immaculate Conception Immigration Impulsivity In Vitro Fertilization Incarnation Indulgences Infallibility Internet Islam Italy Jerusalem Jesus Judaism Justice Kathleen Sebelius Labor Movement LCWR Lent Life Literature Liturgy Lourdes Love Magi Marketing Marriage Martyrdom Martyrs Mary Mass Media Medical Ethics Mexico Michigan Miracles Missionaries Modernism Modesty Monks Monothelitism Motherhood Movies Mushrooms Music Muslim Mystery Mysticism Mythology Nativity Natural Law Nature New Evangelization New Media New Year New Year's Resolutions Nostalgia Obscenity Occult Old Testament Origen Orthodox Orvieto Pallium Papacy Parenting Patience Patriarch Bartholomew Patriotism Peace Peace and Justice Penitence Pentecost People Persecution Philosophy Poetry Political activism Political Correctness Politics Polls Pop Culture Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope John XXIII Pope Paul VI Pope St. Pius X Pope Urban VII Population Prayer Preaching Prejudice Pride Priesthood Pro-Life Protestantism Psychology Purgatory Queenship of Mary Racism Rape Real Presence Reconciliation Reformation Relics Religious Religious Liberty Reliquary Renewal Reproductive Technology Resurrection Rights Romance Rome Royalty Sacraments Sacred Heart Saints Satanism Science Science Fiction Scripture Seal of Confession Secularism Seniors September 11 Seventy Times Seven Sexuality Sharks Sin Smoking Social Communications Social Justice Social Networking Social Sciences Space Exploration Spirituality Sports St. Luke St. Patrick's Day St. Paul St. Peter St. Teresa of Avila Stations of the Cross Steve Jobs Superstition Supreme Court Symbolism Synod Technology Teen Rebellion Television Terrorism Thankfulness Thanksgiving Theology Think This, Not That Tobit Toilets Toys Tradition Traditions Transplants Travel Trinity Twitter U.S. Air Force Uncategorized United Nations USCCB Valentine Vatican Vatican Archives Vatican Blogfest Virtue Vocations Where We Pray White Heart Women World Day of Social Communications World Meeting of Families World News World Youth Day Worship Writing Year of Consecrated Life Year of Faith Year of Mercy Youth

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Jude quotes from the Book of Enoch in his epistle.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE