Pope to priests: Go forth and blog

Benedict urges clergy to proclaim the Gospel' with all media tools possible

VANCAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has a new commandment for priests struggling to get their message across: Go forth and blog.

The pope, whose own presence on the Web has gown in recent years, urged priests on Saturday to use all multimedia tools at their disposal to preach the Gospel and engage in dialogue with people of other religions and cultures.

Priests should use cutting-edge technologies to express themselves and lead their communities, Benedict said in a message released by the Vatican.

“The spread of multimedia communications and its rich 'menu of options' might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web,” 'he said, but priests are “challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources.”

The message, prepared for the World Day of Communications, suggests such possibilities as images, videos, animated features and blogs.

Benedict said young priests should become familiar with new media while still in seminary, though he stressed that the use of new technologies must reflect theological and spiritual principles.

"Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ," he said.

The 82-year-old pope has often been wary of new media, warning about what he has called the tendency of entertainment media, in particular, to trivialize sex and promote violence. But Benedict has also praised new ways of communicating as a "gift to humanity” when used to foster friendship and understanding.

The Vatican has tried hard to stay up to speed with the rapidly changing field.

Last year it opened a YouTube channel as well as a portal dedicated to the pope. The Pope2You site gives news on the pontiff’s trips and speeches and features a Facebook application that allows users to send postcards with photos of Benedict and excerpts from his messages to their friends.

Ariel David,

The Associated Press