What would you ask the Holy Father if you could?

Generations of Christians could never have dreamed of such a possibility. But now you and I have the opportunity ask Pope Benedict XVI our questions.

His Holiness has a new twitter account,  @Pontifex. Anyone who wants can tweet the Pope with questions and thoughts.

Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the internet trolls are out in force, tweeting insults and their usual hate-filled comments. These people and their pathological hatred of the Church and Christ never miss a chance to show themselves for what they are.

I am hoping that Public Catholic readers can do a lot better. Please don’t be afraid to go to twitter and ask your questions of the Holy Father at @Pontifex. My experience in public life has been that the negative and destructive people are only too eager to push everyone aside and make all sorts of noise while the nice people you really want to hear from hang back for fear of being a nuisance.

Please let our Holy Father know that we appreciate his willingness to hear from us in this time of crisis for our faith and for the world. I have no doubt that above all things, what he wants to accomplish with this twitter account is genuine communication with his children in Christ.

I’m excerpting a December 2 post about the Pope’s twitter account by Kathy Schiffler, who blogs here at Patheos at Seasons of Grace. Kathy says in part:

 

Now You, Too, Can “Follow” Pope Benedict, Get

News As It Happens

December 2, 2012 By Kathy Schiffer 1 Comment

When you wake up tomorrow morning, the Catholic Church will have taken another bold step into the era of new media.

That’s because Pope Benedict XVI’s new Twitter account will be activated—so you’ll be able to “follow” the Pope and receive brief, up-to-the-minute news from the Vatican in real time.

At a press conference scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Rome time (that’s 5:30 a.m. Eastern Time here in the U.S.), the Pope’s Twitter account will be officially launched at a press conference in the Holy See Press Office.  Present for the occasion will be a number of familiar Vatican communicators whom I met last year at the Vatican Blogfest:  Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications; Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the same dicastery; and Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office.   Also present will be the editor of L’Osservatore Romano, Professor Gian Maria Vian, and the Holy See Secretariat of State’s American-born media advisor, Greg Burke.  (Read more here.)

 

For other Patheos commentary on the Holy Fathers twitter account  @Pontifex, check out Margaret Rose Realy’s post @pontifex and Gardens, and Sam Rocha with A Shepherd Must Be .