VATICAN CITY, JUNE 27, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is pushing Vatican communication to take “enormous steps,” according to the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
Archbishop Claudio Celli affirmed this today when he presented News.va, the Vatican’s new Web portal that will bring news from various Church sources to the same site.
A sneak preview of News.va is already online, but the site will begin functioning Wednesday, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, and the 60th anniversary of Benedict XVI’s priestly ordination.
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 will include news from L’Osservatore Romano, Vatican Radio, the Fides agency, which reports on missions, and other media.
The Pontiff will personally put News.va online Tuesday evening. Photos and video of the “papal click” will be available shortly after the private event.
News.va does not have a specific editorial line, Archbishop Celli clarified. Rather it is a gathering of communications media that already exits.
“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 set to withstand a high number of simultaneous visits. Archbishop Celli added that he did not have the exact numbers on what the portal costs, but that the financial information will be available soon.
The Vatican’s site at vatican.va will continue to function in its current layout, which is primarily a source of papal and Holy See documents.
News.va will be launched Wednesday in Italian and English with more languages on the horizon in the near future.
“The presence of the Holy See in the field of communication has a respectable history,” Archbishop Celli reflected. “Suffice it to think of L’Osservatore Romano, which is celebrating its 150 years, or of Vatican Radio, which a short time ago celebrated its 80 years of activity.”
