Offline: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg chats with Pope Francis

The Pope didn’t need to log in to his Facebook account.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, together with his wife, Priscilla Chan, met with Pope Francis in his home in Vatican City.

“It was a meeting we’ll never forget. You can feel his warmth and kindness, and how deeply he cares about helping people,” Zuckerberg told his followers on Facebook.

“We told him how much we admire his message of mercy and tenderness, and how he’s found new ways to communicate with people of every faith around the world,” he said.

Vatican spokesman Greg Burke says one topic of discussion at Monday’s meeting was “how to use communication technologies to alleviate poverty, encourage a culture of encounter, and make a message of hope arrive, especially to those most in need.”

Francis received a drone model from the “honored” couple, and was told of the couple’s works at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative which was launched in December 2015.

Aquila, a solar-powered aircraft that will beam internet connectivity to places with no internet connection, is part of Facebook’s efforts to bridge the digital divide.

“We also discussed the importance of connecting people, especially in parts of the world without internet access,” he said.

The social networking giant runs Free Basics, a platform for delivering basic information and services to developing economies like the Philippines.

The meeting with the pontiff was part of Zuckerberg and Chan’s tour of the quake-struck Italy.

The atmosphere appeared informal, with the chat taking place in the Santa Marta residence, the guest house in Vatican City where the Pope lives.

Zuckerberg ditched his regular gray shirt and suited up for the occasion.

The couple also met with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and appeared in a Q&A session in Rome, which was streamed on Facebook Live. With a report from the Associated Press

source: technology.inquirer.net

Pope condemns Paris shooting, says stop spread of hate

 

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis condemned as "abominable" the attack on Wednesday that killed 12 people at the Paris offices of a weekly satirical magazine known for lampooning Islam, calling on everyone to stop the spread of hate.

"The Holy Father expresses his firmest condemnation of the horrible attack," chief Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said in statement.

Francis "calls on everyone to oppose every method of spreading hate" because it "radically undermines the fundamental good of peaceful coexistence of people despite national, religious and cultural differences".

"Whatever its motivation might be, homicidal violence is abominable (and) is never justified," the spokesman said, reflecting the sentiments of the pope.

The leader of the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church was "participating in the prayers and sufferings of the injured and the families of the dead", the spokesman said.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Vatican's deputy spokesman, Father Ciro Benedettini, called the Paris attack "abominable because it is both an attack against people as well as against freedom of the press."  — Reuters

Holiday atmosphere as Rome gears up for papal canonization

VATICAN CITY - St. Peter's Square was packed ahead of Sunday's canonization of two of the 20th century's great popes but hustling tour guides and a hint of the fairground were reminders that it will be a show as well as a solemn ceremony.

More than a million people are expected in and around the square to see Pope Francis declare as saints John XXIII, the Italian pontiff who launched the modernising Second Vatican Council in 1962, and John Paul II, the revered Pole who led the Church for almost 27 years before his death in 2005.

Groups of pilgrims from Poland to Paraguay have come to attend the ceremony, drawn partly by the appeal of Francis, who has injected fresh enthusiasm into many Catholics since his appointment just over a year ago. The fame of the two popes being canonised has also attracted the faithful.

"I feel very happy because both of them inspire us," said Father Emmanuel Emeka, a priest from Nigeria. "I think both of them have a lot to teach us."

As has been true since Christian pilgrims began arriving in Rome more than 1,500 years ago, religious devotion exists side by side with the excitement of a holiday despite gloomy weather.

Tour guides in colored T shirts offered bus tours of the city and promised to get groups into Saint Peter's Basilica without the need for long queuing. Beggars circled wide-eyed tourists from as far away as Africa or Japan.

Alfredo Chiarelli, one of a small group of street merchants known as "urtisti," Italian for people who stop you on the street, has been busy selling religious souvenirs.

He engages curious tourists who stop to look at his tray of crucifixes, medallions and special rose-scented rosaries, his biggest seller.

"It's Pope Francis who has done this, he's really got through to people," he said, adding that the surge of interest in Francis had helped make up for pressure from cheaper Chinese-made wares and tighter spending in the economic downturn.

So far, most people have been interested in images of the Argentinian-born pope and articles connected with John Paul II, whose death brought huge crowds to Saint Peter's chanting "Santo subito!", calling for him to be made a saint immediately.

John XXIII, sometimes known as the "Good Pope" due to his friendly, humorous character, is less sought after by casual passers-by. "Most young people have no idea who John XXIII was anymore," Chiarelli says, sounding slightly regretful.

Trains and planes

For those unable to pack into Saint Peter's on Sunday, 18 huge television screens will be set up around Rome, with reinforced police and paramedical teams deployed around the city to handle crowds boosted by around a million foreign visitors.

"I always knew that our pope was a saint. Now it's only going to be official," said Piotr Kurylo, a Polish endurance runner who ran all the way to Rome to attend the ceremony. "Everything he did in his life always made him a saint."

For thousands of others, special trains and planes have been laid on and many people are planning to spend Saturday night in churches that will remain open all night, praying rather than sleeping. For more earthly needs, authorities have installed 980 chemical lavatories and plan to distribute 4 million bottles of water over the weekend to keep the crowds cool.

The local Rome daily Il Messaggero reported that many bars and restaurants in the area around Saint Peter's planned to shut their doors to avoid being overwhelmed in the crush. With most of the city's hotels booked out, police were cracking down on improvised bed and breakfasts set up specially for the occasion.

The mayor of Rome, Ignazio Marino, said there were no signs of any security problems. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Pope Francis breaks protocol, goes to confession in public

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis surprised his own master of ceremonies on Friday by confessing his sins to an ordinary priest in St. Peter's Basilica.

The pope was presiding at service intended to show the importance he attaches to the sacrament of reconciliation, commonly known as confession.

After reading a sermon, he was to have gone to an empty confessional booth to hear confessions from ordinary faithful as some 60 priests scattered around the huge church did the same.

His master of ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini, pointed him toward the empty booth but the pope went straight to another one, knelt before a surprised priest, and confessed to him for a few minutes.

He then went back to the empty one and heard the confessions of a number of faithful.

The pope goes to confession regularly but in private. -- Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com