Vatican Extols the Import of Catholic Bloggers

On Monday, May 2, 150 bloggers, who were chosen from hundreds of applicants, participated in a meeting, at the Vatican, that was organized by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and the Pontifical Council for Culture. As soon as all were seated, virtually every attendee opened their laptops or took out their mobile phones to connect to the internet. During the meeting, the discussions transmitted on Facebook and Twitter were very intense. Hence, it was both a physical and virtual meeting, allowing 750  registered bloggers "on the outside," who were unable to participate in person, to follow the proceedings closely.

The meeting was to be extremely open, as the said at the beginning of the session. Archbishop

Claudio Maria Celli, president of Pontifical Council for Social Communications, specified that it

was not "a meeting of Catholic bloggers, even though many of you are inspired by the values of

the Gospel, but will attempt to be above all -- and Pope Benedict invites us respectfully to this -- a

respectful dialogue: respectful of the truths of others as well as aware of what we bear in our hearts, in convinced and passionate adherence to Christ the Lord."

During the first round table discussion, a number of these bloggers stressed the importance of this type of communication on the Internet. Participants underlined the way in which faith can be transmitted through blogs and discussions.

Quoting the words of John Paul II, Andrés Beltramo, author of the Sacro y Profano [Sacred and

Profane] blog, and the Roman correspondent for Notimex agency, urged the Church not to fear these

debates. Mattia Marasco, an Italian blogger, also invited the Church to "dare more" in this field.

Five speakers stressed the missionary aspect of the blogs -- like the birth of a new pastoral presence on the internet. Father Marco Sanavio said today the figure of the "web-pastor" is necessary.

François Jeanne-Beylot stated, "If Christ came to preach today, he would not go up a mountain

or get into a boat, but he would go to Twitter or open a blog." Archbishop Celli stated that the May 2 meeting would be the start of other possible initiatives of greater scope. It has helped the Holy See, he acknowledged, to be officially conscious "of the existence and importance of the 'blogosphere'" today.