Blogs Are Read in the Vatican -- Msgr Tighe About the Vatican and Communications

(Vatikan) There are over 700 messages received as yet for the Vatican Blog Meeting about the new reality of Catholic internet blogs. Msgr Paul Tighe of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications explained this to Katholisches.info. "The great interest in this initiative has been really encouraging for us in our efforts to draw the community of bloggers in conversation in order mostly to encourage and strengthen."

The number of participants will be restricted to 150 places, and the applicants will be organized according to their language, geographic origins and typology of the blog (like personal, institutional or journalist). A key to the greatness of the significance of languages and the continents the 150 participants will be assigned lots.

Next to bloggers from the whole world, there will be those countless people responsible for Catholic internet sights, diocesan sites and the Catholic media work for the meeting.

Msgr. Tighe is concerned that the German language area has been "too little considered". "In the future this will be different." The meeting is only being considered as a "first initiative", in order to get in contact with the "new reality" of bloggers. On the contrary to Catholic radio broadcasters or newspapers there aren't associations and structures for contact persons. "Everything is much more spontaneous and more decentralized" than other media, said Msgr Tighe.

The Vatican "sees the increasing importance" of blogs and "wish to see that they are as quick communication and the dissemination of news increasingly important." The meeting intends recognition of the "diversity" of these "new realities of communication". There is "no roll" in play, if a blog "is more academic, or more interested in Church politics, more for liturgy or more for doctrine, or if it is right or left, progressive or traditionalist." One doesn't want to evaluate, rather "simply to get a view of the face of blogs, in order to come in direct conversation." For it is a fact that "there will be more people are informed about various Blogs", says Msgr. Tighe.

The Papal Office for Social Communications observed "the continual development of blogs", says Tighe. "Today's traditional press agenda -- and the weekly press is just coming to the Internet this moment." It makes it so that there is no systematic oversight of certain pages, says the Secretary of the PCSC. "And thus there is the need the help of blogs to oversee, if and how the message of the Vatican is being received." The blogs are because of their speed, "invaluable barometer", if the message "is understood" and "how it is understood". "Blogs enable us to evaluate the efficiency of our communication", says Msgr Tighe.

The question if blogs are read "even in the higher levels" of the Vatican, was answered by Msgr. Tighte with a decisive "naturally, no question." In this sense the "importance of blogs in the Vatican as a reaction to an outgoing message is considerable." It is a "fact" that the various "blogs are very much read in the Vatican". This naturally happens "peripherally at the individual level introduced by individual coworkers up to decision makers". Which blogs are read depends "on the importance of a blog and of the agreement with its positions," says Msgr Tighe.

The blogger would have other needs than the traditionally accredited journalists. the Vatican is to begin for that reason at the end of May with a new multi-media News portal, which can interface more easily with the new forms of social communication like Facebook and Twitter. All of the relevant offices of the Vatican press service should appear there together: of Radio Vatican, Osservatore Romano, Fides and Vis (Vatican Information Service). This should enable the "concentrated and direct access for bloggers and natural for all who are interested". At first there will be Italian and English language versions, and then there will follow other languages, step by step, "even German".

Msgr Tighe did not want to refer directly to "translation mistakes" and "ambiguous" formulation in several editions of the new youth catechism YouCAT. "Generally" he explained therefore: "Communication must be clear". The Vatican is planning steps for the future that "reinforce online publication and place less emphasis on printed editions". This will enable "not only a rapid, worldwide communication and direct dissemination", rather also "a possibility for quick corrections of eventual errors", says Msgr Tighe. Fundamentally the search for a "understandable, but at the same time, adequate language, for a newer challenge". It is "not easy" to "pull back colleagues who are not familiar with the language of the Church."

On Saturday, April 16th, the list of participants of the Vatican Meeting Blog will be published at the Council for Social Communications www.pccs.va.

Translated from katholisches...