The National Catholic Register profiles Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, the new Vatican spokesman. The focus is on Lombardi’s efforts at Vatican Radio that made it one of the most technologically advanced radio broadcasters in the world, encompassing Internet sites, podcasting, satellite broadcasting, local radio broadcasting, and so on.
“We may not be first in every field but we are well-placed in terms of technology,” he told the Register late last year. “And this is part of our tradition, as our early association with Marconi testifies.”
Pope Benedict XVI probably hopes that Father Lombardi brings the same things to the Holy See Press Office. Just as he saw the station as a “content producer” rather than simply radio, it is expected that he will embrace all the means possible to effectively disseminate what happens in the universal Church to the world’s press.
It would be interesting to see how Lombardi would streamline the Vatican’s press office, and modernize it as well, taking advantage of the Internet and new technology not just to make it easier for them to communicate with the press, but directly to Catholics.
Part of the problem in the Church is that the lines of communication are often filtered through a secular media that is hostile or just ignorant of the Church. Thus when the Pope speaks, the vast majority of people hear what CNN or the Times or another outlet says he said. Very few people will ever read a Zenit or Catholic World News or National Catholic Register or even diocesan newspaper report. Even fewer will read a blog report. I’d like to see the Vatican take a more proactive role in pushing the information out to the people, getting it to them as unfiltered as possible.
Of course, such new openness and new technology would be beneficial to bloggers looking for convenient sources of blogging material.
Technorati Tags:Internet, podcasting, radio, Vatican
