“Wherever human beings are, the Church is there too. This is why the Pope uses Twitter and Instagram.” With these words, Bishop Lucio Adrian Ruiz, Secretary of the Holy See’s Secretariat for Communications, introduced a workshop organized by the Vatican on Twitter Diplomacy at the Holy See. The event, which was promoted by the British Embassy to the Holy See in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Communications, brought together diplomats and personalities who work with digital communications, especially Twitter, in the Vatican and in the Church.
During the meeting, the participants shared their experiences with regard to how the way of communicating has changed, including on the institutional level, after social networks exploded on the scene.
In expressing their opinions, the participants emphasized the positive role Pope Francis is offering on a daily basis through his @Pontifex account, which is followed by more than 32 million people in 9 languages. The common agreement was that the Pope is a leader in the social media because what he has to say on important subjects touches the minds and hearts of people, believers and non-believers alike.