Two Popes

This, from Anglican scholars:


 

Some Lenten Humour

 

Pope’s Twitter Success Praised as Evangelisation Breakthrough

CNA:

Pope Benedict’s mass of 2.5 million followers in eight languages during his first month on Twitter has one Vatican priest calling the pontiff’s online presence “a new frontier” of evangelization.

Father Paolo Padrini, a collaborator of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, said it is good that the Pope has so many followers, but it even more important that the Pope “seeks to co-exist and share on Twitter.”

“Being present in social media is evangelizing, if just for the fact that he is present with his words,” he told CNA Jan. 11.

“It’s a great joy to see the Pope’s words being disseminated, a joy that is held by all believers.”

Twitter is a social media service that allows users to send out 140-character messages, called “tweets,” to other users who follow their accounts. Followers and others may then share these tweets with their own followers with a “re-tweet.”

The Pope’s first tweet on his personal account went out on Dec. 12, the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Over 64,000 people retweeted his introductory message on his English-language account “Pontifex,” while over 33,000 did so for his Spanish-language account “Pontifex_es.”

As of Jan. 11, he has sent out only 21 tweets. He has shared his favorite memory of Christmas, asked for prayers for an end to the Syria conflict and exhorted others to look to Jesus Christ.

“Following Christ’s example, we have to learn to give ourselves completely,” the Pope said on Twitter Jan. 9. “Anything else is not enough.”

Anyone on Twitter may interact with any other user. Those who have replied to the Pope range from the devout, the appreciative and the inquisitive to the flippant, irreverent and even obscene.

The Pope’s followers are numerous indeed. His English-language account has over 1.4 million subscribers, his Spanish-language account has 575,000 and his Italian-language account has 265,000.

His tweets also go out in French, German, Polish, Portuguese and Arabic. His Arabic-language account is the least popular but still has a respectable 18,000 followers.

By comparison, President Barack Obama has acquired 25 million followers in almost five years. The Dalai Lama has about six million followers on Twitter…

The Pope’s Twitter following quickly surpassed Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, who has 72,000 followers.

Claire Diaz Ortiz, Manager of Social Innovation at Twitter, said the company is “thrilled” any time a leader joins their network to connect with his or her followers.

“For the Pope, the decision will be a way for him to better connect his flock of 1.2 billion. That many of those interactions can now take place on Twitter is an inspiring fact for believers everywhere,” she told CNA Jan. 11.

She said that the company has seen a wide range of spiritual leaders form large followings on Twitter.

“Many religious leaders have embraced Twitter to minister to their community, listen to their concerns and share meaningful content,” she said.

Diaz said the Pope’s Twitter debut showed an “incredible emphasis” on internationalization…

Fr. Padrini, who has developed and implemented pontifical council communications initiatives like the website pope2you.net and the iPhone app iBreviary, said that he thinks the Pope’s success on Twitter is “major.”

“It has really warmed my heart. It’s a beautiful thing. But I didn’t have any doubt in my mind that it would be successful,” he said.

Judging from what he has read and heard in informal conversations, he thinks the Pontifical Council for Social Communications must be “very happy” that Pope Benedict’s communications are “more widespread than ever thanks to social media.”

The priest was optimistic about Twitter as a medium, even though little can be said in a single tweet.

“One hundred and forty characters are few but the number of years of Jesus on earth were also few,” he said. “The important thing is to be present and to do so with quality.”

Fr. Padrini added that the Pope has helped inspire others on the internet.

“I feel that because of the Pope’s presence online, all of the work of all of us who work in evangelization online is also valued.”

 

New Zealand Ad: Pope Blesses Gay Couple

In the New Zealand Herald:

A billboard depicting Pope Benedict XVI blessing the marriage of a male couple is unlikely to cause widespread offence, the Advertising Standards Authority has ruled.

The authority dismissed complaints against the Powershop billboard by four complainants.

The four-and-a-half storey billboard was part of a campaign by Powershop, with the slogan “Same Power, Different Attitude”.

The signs were put up last month in central Auckland and Wellington.

One complainant, B Pender, said the billboard offended him as a Christian.

“It is attempting to imply that the Catholic Church and The Vatican condone same sex marriage despite no formal communication of said claim.”

Other complaints to the authority mirrored that view and said the advertisement mocked the Catholic religion.

The authority’s chairman Jenny Robson said the advertisement was referring to the issue of the same-sex marriage bill that was before Parliament and was legislation the Catholic Church opposed.

The electricity company used irony and humour, in keeping with Powershop’s same power, different attitude campaign, she said.

Ms Robson said she acknowledged the offence caused to the complainants, but the billboard did not reach the threshold to be said to cause widespread offence in light of prevailing community standards.

“Neither did it breach the due sense of responsibility to consumers and society.”

Powershop chief executive Ari Sargent welcomed today’s decision.

“It kind of reflects the feedback that we’ve got from the general public – yes, there was some vocal opposition but, by in large, people saw it for what it was and didn’t find it particularly offensive.”

Yes, inoffensive only to the godless…

 

Syria: Nothing But A Field Of Ruins

So has warned Pope Benedict XVI:

Pope Benedict XVI has urged diplomats to supply urgent aid to Syria to relieve civilian suffering, while expressing hope that Jerusalem would become `’a city of peace and not of division.”

Benedict addressed urgent crises around the world in an annual speech to diplomats Monday. Starting with the Middle East, `’that privileged region in God’s plan,” the pope warned that continued conflict in Syria will leave `’nothing but a field of ruins.”  The pope said he hoped Israelis and Palestinians will commit `’to peaceful coexistence.”

Addressing the economic crisis closer to home, the pontiff called on the European Union to make `’farsighted” and `’difficult” policy decisions favoring growth.

He called on policymakers to monitor closely the disparity between rich and poor as they do differences in bond market yields.

 

Pope Benedict XVI: 5th Most Powerful Man on Earth

That’s according to Forbes.

HT

Pope Benedict XVI Tweeting

Well, almost. His Twitter page is, however, up and running here. @Pontifex

There are various language options too. And yes, you can Tweet him too.

 

Pope Welcomes New Archbishop of Canterbury

The pope has reaffirmed his desire for stronger ties between the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in his first message to the next Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

The Telegraph reports:

In a message through Cardinal Kurt Koch, the Vatican’s ecumenical chief, he spoke of the long-standing aim of “fully restored ecclesial communion” between the two churches.

The letter promised prayers for the Bishop of Durham and his family and spoke of the “intense spiritual and human friendship” between previous Archbishops and Popes.

Ties between the church in England and the papacy were first severed under Henry VIII and permanently separated under Elizabeth I.

But current relations between the two churches are widely viewed as closer than at any point in the last 400 years.

The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has a strong personal friendship with Pope Benedict, and shares a similar background as a theologian.

Dr Williams’ tenure included Benedict XVI’s historic visit to the UK and last month he was invited by the Pope to address leading Catholic clergy from around the world in Rome.

But Dr Williams recently acknowledged that the impending vote to ordain women as bishops effectively ruled out anything resembling a merger.

Writing on behalf of the Pope, the Cardinal said: “Relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion are a hugely important part of the ecumenical call for all Christians to seek greater fidelity to the Lord’s will, so clearly expressed in his prayer to the Father at the Last Supper ‘that all may be one’.

“For almost 50 years, as you are well aware, there has been a formal theological dialogue which continues to seek a deeper understanding of the great heritage shared by Anglicans and Catholics, as well as the points of divergence which still impede fully restored ecclesial communion.

“During that same time, relations between succeeding Popes and Archbishops of Canterbury have been marked by numerous meetings which have expressed intense spiritual and human friendship, and a shared concern for our gospel witness and service to the human family.

“I am certain that under your leadership those excellent relations will continue to bear fruit, and I look forward to meeting you personally, and to future opportunities to share our common commitment to the cause of Christian Unity, ‘so that the world may believe’.”

 

Europe: Two Souls, Three Reasons for Hope

“The second reason for my hope lies in the fact that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, faith in Jesus Christ is quite simply true and the truth never ages.” — Pope Benedict XVI, Interview, October 15, 2012.

Read on here.

 

Is the Pope Jewish?

Via First Thoughts:

Yes, says the head of the Hebrew Studies Department at Tanta University in Egypt, Muhammad Galaa Idris. In an interview on Egypt’s Al-Rahma TV, he informs us that Pope Benedict XVI is either Jewish or has been “Judaized”:

The Egyptian academic said this in an interview in January 2012 with Al-Rahma TV, according to footage recorded and translated by MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute. “The current pope Benedict IV or VII or whatever is even more Zionist then Herzl,” said Idris, adding  “I follow his statements, and I’ve already said, that if that man is not a Jew then he has been Judaized. . . . He is more Zionist than the Zionists themselves.”

Some falsehoods flatter, and all I have to say in response to this one is viva la papa!