Pope to be soon on facebook

London, May 20: The Vatican is to post Pope Benedict XVI's profile on popular online social networking site, Facebook, as part of an effort to broaden the pontiff's appeal among computer savvy.

The Facebook initiative will also involve iPhone application and a new Vatican website www.pope2you.net, which is slated to go live on the Catholic Church's World Communication day on May 24. The Catholic church wants to follow the footsteps of US President Obama, who used the internet both during his election campaign and to his office also.

Archbishop Claudio Celli, who leads the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications said, "the Pope is inviting us to promote a culture of dialogue, of respect and friendship, especially among young people. We think this pontifical council itself has to use new technologies to promote new relationships around the world. We must take advantage of what the new technologies are offering us at this very moment."

The new website has been designed by Italian priest, Paolo Padrini, who has spearheaded recent Vatican forays into cyberspace.

ANI