Pope Francis’ address to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications is “must read” material for those of us who blog, tweet, post to Facebook and love our Church. In these brief remarks Pope Francis helps place in proper priority our efforts to share our love for Jesus Christ in new and ever evolving ways: Dear Brothers and Sisters, I am pleased to greet you and to thank you for your work and commitment to the important... Read more
I ran across this video today and had a little flashback to my own wedding, which was quite simple by today’s standards. You’ve got to watch this drama unfold: Popular opinion seems to be that the “priest” (which I don’t think he’s a Catholic priest, because of the collar and the fact that they wedding is outdoors) is the wrongful party here. But I immediately thought, why is the photographer shooting from that angle? Everyone in the congregation likely saw... Read more
I think I’m pretty tuned in to social media, but every week when I receive John Clem’s list of “Sweet Tweets”, I never cease to be amazed at some of the “big news” that I miss along the way. It’s also fascinating to look at these posts from week to week and ponder how much has changed in only seven days. Last week, we were perched on the edge of our Saturday pray vigil for #PeaceinSyria and today we’re processing... Read more
Fr. Jim Martin answers interesting questions from CNN on the news of the day — the Pope Francis interview. I didn’t know until I listened to Fr. Martin that this interview was published simultaneously in 16 Jesuit periodicals today. Please watch the full interview — less than four minutes — for a well-informed Jesuit perspective from a priest who has studied this interview in great depth: Video Link Read the CNN recap article here. Read more
By now, the blogosphere is chock full of “takes” on that amazing America Magazine interview with Pope Francis. Major kudos to Fr. Matt Malone, S.J., America’s Editor in Chief (who explains the interview process here), Fr. Antonio Spadaro, S.J. of Civiltà Cattolica, and the entire team behind this groundbreaking 10,000+ word look inside the mind and heart of our Holy Father. I’m not going to excerpt any of the interview here. The team behind this profile deserves for ALL of us to... Read more
I am a major fan of Msgr. Paul Tighe, the current secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. I’ve had the opportunity to hear him speak and even to meet him a few times. Knowing his tireless advocacy for efficacious communications, it’s a true thrill to watch as the Vatican continues to “get” the evolution of social media as a major force in not only the Church’s messaging, but in her teaching as well. In this Rome Reports video,... Read more
Actually, you can get in line behind me. I’m a fangirl. Mark’s now got a “page” on Facebook where you can keep in touch with all of his writing and speaking. Of course, my favorite part… The cover photo: A question for you: What are some of your favorite “pages” to follow on Facebook? Read more
From L’Osservatore Romano via News.va: “More than 9,300,000 followers and, thanks to retweets, at least 60,000 million people on their smartphones and tablets are reached by the Holy Father’s tweets”; as well as the “10,260,000 people every month who visit our pages in the various languages through the portal www.news.va via Facebook”. These are Pope Francis’ record statistics on social networks of the first six months of his pontificate; a media success of which “few other global leaders can boast”, is the... Read more
From today’s General Audience catechesis with Pope Francis: Video Link During his Audience catechesis Pope Francis returned to the theme of the “Church as our Mother”, by reflecting on all that our earthly mothers do, live and suffer for their children. He noted, that our mothers show us, through their tenderness and love, the correct path to follow in life, so that we may grow into adulthood, before adding that the Church too orients us on the path of life,... Read more
It’s gone viral, with close to six million views since being published on Youtube on 9/11: Video Link I’ve been thinking today about why films like this that show the amazing capacity of simple acts of love and generosity are so incredibly compelling. How many times per day do we walk past opportunities to be the face and hands of Christ to someone — to pause for an act of compassion — simply because we are too busy to notice... Read more
Lisa Hendey
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