Pope's Twitter Account Revealed As @Pope2YouVatican, Spreads Themes From Lenten Message

Faithful followers left confused about where to follow Pope Benedict XVI's Lenten messages on Twitter might be relieved to hear His Holiness finally has his "own" account: @Pope2YouVatican.

The account isn't managed by the Pontiff himself, but the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (PCSC) is using the Twitter handle in the Pope's name to spread themes from the 2012 Lenten message, speeches and documents.

Still, the Pope's Twitter handle is garnering some attention from critics who've called the choice of name a bit strange.

"@Pope2YouVatican? The Pope can't get a straight-up Twitter handle? The Pope?!" Jon Stewart exclaimed on "The Daily Show." "That is weak, Twitter. That is Tweak."

Similarly, Gizmodo suggests a simpler name, such as "ImThePope" or "PopeBendedict16," would've been the way to go.

"But no—he's Pope2YouVatican, a name so convoluted that it sounds more like a robot spam account than the channel for Benedict's Papal dictations," the site wrote.

But the name was not completely random, seeing as a website and Facebook application by the same name were launched by the Vatican in 2009.

In addition, the account has been in use since before Ash Wednesday of this year, featuring messages and photos that date back into last year.

Nevertheless, for 40 days, the "Pope" will be sharing messages in various languages, including English, Spanish and German, through the Twitter account.

The Pope has been further experimenting with technology and social media since he sent his first tweet in June 2011. In December, His Holiness lit the world's biggest Christmas tree with an Android-powered Sony tablet computer.

Comments

[GimmeABreak70]

08:40 PM on 03/02/2012

I guess that @Grand_Dragon was already taken. Bummer.

[jchandjd]

11:40 PM on 02/29/2012

The Pope needs to concentrate on handing over the hundreds of child molesters his oprganization has protected!

[VinZenTexaN]

04:37 PM on 03/01/2012

F & F !

[LMPE]

08:55 PM on 02/29/2012

In the meantime, does the former member of the Hitler Youth have any plans to address all that pedophilia?

[medonna]

11:08 AM on 03/02/2012

My thoughts exactly.

[Robert Frano]

06:54 PM on 02/29/2012

Re: "The Pope has been further experimenting with technology and social media since...etc"

I hate to sound like a broken record, but I gotta ask:

…Since when?
…Since his organization stopped doing heretics a ‘favor’ by strangling them, BEFORE burning them, if, (post torture), the heretic's confession was deemed ‘sincere enough’ by the absolutely objective torturer-monk?

…Since the latest in a never-ending series of adults who used to be faithful weekly (or even daily), mass-attendees said/sent tweets & e-mails, (‘...later, for you’), to Rome?

...Since the last / latest pre-teen / adolescent was used as a ‘birth-control-adjunct’, (as children typically can’t be impregnated, thereby lessening the likely hood of inheritance issues)?
Oh, right:
As various 'trials, in progress' and URL’s, at www.bishopaccountability, (& other ‘clerical-sex-offender’ tracking sites), note...
children too small or too young to punch a molester in the face remain at risk!

[cameron d]

06:03 PM on 02/29/2012

Just like the Catholic Church to be years behind the times.

[dschiff]

05:04 PM on 02/29/2012

I don't know if his staff just has a very tenuous grip on the English language or what?

I'm curious if people are going to be able to tweet back at him/them...

I might have a few things to say......

[Edbeason]

04:45 PM on 02/29/2012

I guess if you tell too much of the truth about the Pope and the church, you can't post here........apparently. I wonder if this one will make it past his protectors.

[gibby1855]

03:15 PM on 03/02/2012

I get that all the time. It doesn't matter what you say

[speedy evans]

03:52 PM on 02/29/2012

tweeter handle .he needs to get a handle on all those priest molisting ppl

[Shikamaru]

03:46 PM on 02/29/2012

"I was once a catholic, until I reached the age of reason, I think I was two." -George Carlin

[NormdePlume]

02:58 PM on 02/29/2012

How about "highly irrelevant".

[helioszephyr]

02:42 PM on 02/29/2012

No "sexting", please.

[Fugitaboutit]

02:10 PM on 02/29/2012

The headline is "What Do You Think About the Pope's Twitter Handle?" Gosh, I don't know...I'll have to go ask a bunch of alter boys. Didn't know that's what they were calling it these days.

[Dragosurfer]

01:22 PM on 02/29/2012

He had to take what was available. His first 10 or 15 choices were taken.

I think he should have gone with [e-mail]

[Cranmer1549]

12:27 PM on 02/29/2012

Wow, those goes in the Curia are out of touch! How about the Big Kahuna or Ill Papa or 2Legit2Benedict?

[Hillbilly49]

12:04 PM on 02/29/2012

The Pope is just amazing.