Pope Benedict XVI Joins Twitter, Allegedly Posted Picture with God [PHOTO]
'The Onion' Pokes Fun at the Head of the Roman Catholic Church
The Vatican announced to the public about Pope Benedict XVI's official Twitter account on Monday.
With his first join in a social networking site, Pope Benedict XVI allegedly posted a picture of himself relaxing with God on a yacht.
"Feelin real blessed today to be hangin out wit @therealHeavenlyFather today! Just gettin' some sun and sippin cocktails. #loveit," the Pope wrote on his Twitter account with more than 500,000 followers. According to The Onion, The picture was reportedly re-tweeted by famous stars such as Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars and Oprah Winfrey.
On a serious note, the Vatican's objective on the Pope's Twitter account is to raise the church's online profile. The Internet can also aid the Pope in avoiding problems as well as improving his preaching methods. Pope Benedict XVI's Twitter account, @Pontifex, drew almost 200,000 followers in the first hours after the Vatican's announcement. However, Pope Benedict XVI will not officially start posting Twitter messages until December 12. The Pope plans to respond to questions about faith submitted on Twitter through a special hashtag, #askpontifex, which was set up by the Vatican.
"For now, the pope's tweets will contain "pearls of wisdom" from his speeches," Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, President of the Vatican department for communications, stated during Twitter feed announcement at a Vatican press conference.
"Nobody is going to be putting words into his mouth," Greg Burke, a former Fox News journalist who is now a senior Vatican adviser for communications confirmed since the 85-year-old Pope cannot type the Twitter messages himself. Burke further added that Pope Benedict XVI will personally approve the content of every Twitter message.
"All words will be the pope's words," Burke said.
"Twitter is an example of the "new market of ideas." The Church has to be there. We want to use any method to spread the message," Burke added.