Life
Pope Francis Busts A Record Previously held by David Beckham — A Million Instagram Followers In 12 Hours

Pope Francis’ new Instagram account hit one million followers within 12 hours of being launched on Saturday, breaking a record previously held by David Beckham. The Pontiff’s account was launched with a photo of him — not a selfie —…

IT Management
The Pope May Screw Up Your New iPhone 6s Deliveries, Ugh

If you live in New York, consider your Friday ruined. There’s a decent chance that you won’t be taking tequila shot selfies on Friday night – well, you probably will, just not with the iPhone 6s’ cool new screen-flash. Apple…

Life
Pope Francis’ Old iPad Sells for $30K at Auction

An old iPad, once owned by Internet-lover Pope Francis, has fetched a sizable sum at a local charity auction. Reuters reports that the iPad was sold for $30,500 on Tuesday. All the proceeds will go to a school for the…

Life
Charlie Hebdo: Shy Press “Insulting The Citizenship”

Charlie Hebdo‘s editor in chief, Gérard Biard, went on Sunday’s Meet the Press to discuss the effect that the terrorist attacks on their office in Paris earlier this month have had on media. In addition to that, many wanted to…

SocialMediaNews
The Pope’s Not Joining Facebook, It’s Just Too Abusive

The internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good, a gift from God – Pope Francis, January 2014 Well, maybe not Facebook. The Pope (the Pope’s Vatican social media team) does have a…

IT Management
Pope Francis Says The Internet Is ‘A Gift From God’, Urges Us to Become ‘Citizens Of The Digital World’

For progressive Catholics and the progressive non-religious, Pope Francis has been a pretty bit hit in his first year in the papacy. Between his “judge ye not” stance on gays, advocacy for the poor, and disparaging remarks about capitalism as…

Life
Pope Francis Reaches Out to Atheists

Eugenio Scalfari, a self-described “non-believer”, co-founder and former editor of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, asked in two letters some theological questions for Pope Francis. In one of Scalfari’s questions to the Pope, he asked whether or not “God forgives those…

SocialMediaNews
Pope Francis Tweets for the First Time as @Pontifex Account Tops 2 Million Followers

Last Wednesday, a plume of white smoke emerged in Vatican City, signaling that the papal conclave had chosen a new leader for the Catholic Church. Shortly after, Argentinian cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio addressed the crowd as Pope Francis, the 266th…

SocialMediaNews
New Pope Chosen, @Pontifex Twitter Account Reactivated

With a plume of white smoke, the papal conclave has just selected Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a cardinal from Argentina, as the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. He will be called Pope Francis and is the first ever pope…

Life
Sistine Chapel Closes Ahead of Papal Conclave

In order to prepare for the upcoming Papal Conclave, the Vatican today closed the Sistine Chapel to visitors. As of 1 pm today, the chapel, famous for its renaissance frescoes, will be closed to the public until the process of…

SocialMediaNews
The Pope’s Twitter Account Goes ‘Sede Vacante’

After the death or resignation of a pope, the Sancta Sedes (Holy See) becomes vacant. Today, the Twitter account of former pope Benedict reflects this reality and has gone “Sede Vacante,” or latin for vacant seat. As such, all of…

SocialMediaNews
The Pope’s Twitter Account to Be Put on Ice, Not Shuttered

Despite earlier reports that Pope Benedict’s resignation means curtains for the official @Pontifex Twitter account, it looks like the account will stay alive while the Papal Conclave selects his replacement. At least according to the Secretary of the Pontifical Council…

SocialMediaNews
Cardinals Barred from Twitter Use as They Select the New Pope

Twitter-using Cardinals are going to have to shutter their devices when they all convene to select a new Pope to replace the outgoing Benedict XVI. The 117 Cardinals who will participate in the upcoming Papal Conclave will be barred from…

SocialMediaNews
The Pope Started Tweeting Today, Just So You Know

If your Twitter stream needed a little more Jesus, you’re in luck. Pope Benedict XVI, or simply “the pope” to me and you, has officially dipped his toes into the wide world of Twitter. The Pope actually joined the social…

SocialMediaNews
Pope, Meet Twitter: Best of the #AskPontifex Hashtag

As you may have heard, the pope is now on Twitter. Pope Benedict actually sent out his first tweet over a year ago, but it was from an official Vatican account. This time, the pope is opening up his own…

SocialMediaNews
The Pope Is Now on Twitter (in Eight Languages)

It’s official: The Pope is now on Twitter. @Pontifex, as well as seven other variations of that handle that sport different language tags (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Polish, Arabic and French) are now active on the site. Although the pope…

Life
Vatican Butler Ordered to Stand Trial

Pope Benedict XVI’s former butler has been ordered by the Vatican to stand trial over a whistle-blowing scandal that has been simmering since May. Paolo Gabriele was arrested on May 25 after leaking many confidential Vatican letters addressed to the…

SocialMediaNews
Twitter, Facebook Should Be Embraced by Catholic Church, Says Bishop

The Catholic Church should be using social media services to spread the good word to the rest of the world, so a bishop speaking at the Australian Catholic Congress in Sydney, Australia today. Bishop David Walker explained how the Church…

SocialMediaNews
Pope Tweets for First Time, Uses iPad

The Vatican is continuing to take steps to pull itself into the 21st century, as they have announced the launch of a brand new Vatican news site with a Tweet. Not just any Tweet, but the first official Tweet from…