THE Vatican announced its own YouTube channel yesterday in an attempt to reach the digital generation and better control the Pope's online image.
Monsignor Claudio Maria Celli, who heads the Vatican's social communications office, said the Pope explicitly approved of the online channel. He said he was "a man of dialogue" who wanted to engage with people wherever they were.
In his inaugural message, Pope Benedict XVI welcomed viewers to this "great family that knows no borders" and said he hoped they would "feel involved in this great dialogue of truth".
The site,
www.youtube.com/vaticanit, was launched on the same day the pontiff praised as a "gift to humanity" the benefits of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace in forging friendships and understanding. The Vatican plans to update the site daily, with its messages available in Italian, German, English and Spanish.
