The scope of the online world and the impact it has on our daily lives isn’t a new revelation, but what is surprising is the latest advice from Pope Benedict XVI to his priests. The supreme authority figure of the Catholic Church, is now urging the priests across the globe to take realize the reach of the internet and use it as a tool to spread the word of Jesus Christ and engage in talks with people of other religions and cultures.

The Pope has further stressed that, just internet browsing and e-mail communication isn’t sufficient for the cause and the priests need to take more innovative and technologically radical steps to reach out to the world and should use valuable communication tools such as images, videos, animated features, blogs, and Web sites. He further stated the young generation priests, who are currently under training in seminaries should take steps towards making the best use of the internet technology, but need to keep their activities inside the boundaries of theology and spiritual principles.

The Pope himself has been quite active on the internet with a range of online services and applications in an effort to reach out to the masses. The Vatican had recently launched its very own YouTube channel and a website called Pop2You dedicated to the trips and speeches made by the pontiff.

In a statement, Pope Benedict XVI said,

“The spread of multimedia communications and its rich ‘menu of options’ might make us think it sufficient simply to be present on the Web,” but priests are “challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources.”

Via Associated Priest