Vatican City, June 29, 2011 (Zenit.org/SIGNIS): On June 29, The Vatican launched the new information and media portal that will bring news from various Church sources to the same site: www.news.va.
Pope Benedict publishing his first tweet
Pope Benedict XVI announced the portal by posting his very first tweet: "Dear Friends, I just launched www.news.vaPraised be Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings."
Archbishop Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, presented News.va as the brainchild of the Pope who is pushing Vatican communication to take "enormous steps."
Noting how the Vatican has already expanded its presence on the Internet with Facebook and YouTube pages, among others, Archbishop Celli explained the Holy Father’s reasoning: "I want to be present where people come together," he has said.
News.va includes news from L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican Radio, the Fides agency, which reports on missions, and other media. The portal does not have a specific editorial line, Archbishop Celli clarified. Rather it is a gathering of communications media that already exists. "Each medium keeps its autonomy and identity, which will be evident from the presentation of the news they supply to the portal," he said.
News.va is launched in Italian and English with more languages, including French and Spanish, on the horizon in the near future.
