The Holy See invites Catholic bloggers to a special meeting

I have just read Fr Tim Finigan's blog-post entitled "Vatican blognic", which reports that the Vatican is to hold a special meeting with Catholic bloggers on 2 May, the day after Pope John Paul II's beatification. The conference is to be hosted by the Pontifical Councils for Culture and Social Communications, and will be held in the Palazzo San Pio X, on the Via della Conciliazione (where both dicasteries have their offices). According to Rocco Palmo at Whispers in the Loggia, this event will be "a first-of-its-kind encounter" between the Holy See and "the world of new media".

Speakers at the meeting will include Cardinal Ravasi of the Pontifical Council for Culture, Archbishop Celli of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and Fr Federico Lombardi SJ from the Vatican’s Press Office and Vatican Radio. The official press release that announces the conference also informs us that, "An important dimension of the meeting is to allow an opportunity for informal exchange and contact between those attending with a view to opening further avenues of interaction."

Unfortunately, places are limited to 150 participants, and my thinking is that the Holy See will already have been inundated with requests to attend. But, who knows, it might be worth applying for a place if you write a Catholic blog? To do so, please see Fr Finigan's post which has all the details, including a translation of the original Pontifical Council for Social Communication's posting.

My guess is that the Vatican's meeting with the world's Catholic bloggers will serve several purposes. Providing a forum for bloggers and officials from the Holy See to exchange information and contacts will obviously be an important aspect of the event. I also think it essential for the Vatican to positively engage with bloggers, both to encourage our "mission" and to ensure that we are doing our best to transmit the Faith in a charitable, educated, orthodox and Christ-like way. [I often fail in this respect, mea culpa...].

It's known that many who work within the various Vatican dicasteries and offices of the Roman Curia follow Catholic blogs - with English language blogs being particularly popular. Those bloggers who make the effort to promote the Church's presence on the internet can therefore be quite influential - Fr Tim Finnigan quotes Paolo Rodari, who comments that religious bloggers really do "influence opinions" in the Vatican's "upper floors".

In common with many other blogs, visitors from the Holy See pop in from time-to-time to read A Reluctant Sinner, for which I am very grateful. In fact, a few weeks ago I noticed (thanks to Site Meter) that someone in the Vatican had read my article on the man who gave up food for Lent, vowing to live on Bavarian beer instead. Whoever it was spent nearly an hour reading and rereading the post... Now, I only know of two Bavarian beer-drinkers in the Vatican - wouldn't it be exciting to think that one or both of them had dedicated an hour of their valuable time to reading this very amateur blog!

[Image: from the official press release that announces the Vatican's meeting with bloggers]