Positivity: Pope Launched Vatican News Portal on Tuesday

From the Vatican, in a report written the day before it opened (the portal is now up and running):

Jun 27, 2011 / 04:02 pm

On June 28, Pope Benedict XVI will launch the Vatican's first multimedia news portal, which is also designed for mobile devices.

“We are trying to give everybody an opportunity to have Vatican news immediately in a modern and accessible way, using new technology,” said Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, in an interview with CNA on June 27.

He explained that the Pope will have the privilege of giving the “first click” to take the site online, a reflection of the way Pope Pius XI inaugurated the transmission of Vatican Radio 80 years ago.

Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See's Press Office, explained to CNA that the Pope's first click will be “a simple but powerful and symbolic action,” to demonstrate that the new initiative is a response to “a desire of the Pope for the new communication of the Church.”

One of the most notable new features of www.news.va will be its integration with social networks, and a design geared toward mobile devices such as the iPad. “This is a new approach for us,” Archbishop Celli noted.

The new information source will highlight the Pope's travels, acts and teachings. It will also contain statements released by various departments of the Vatican, news developments from local churches worldwide and information about other important global developments.

“It is synergy, bringing together the contribution of different media,” commented Fr. Lombardi.

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