VATICAN CITY
BBC News Magazine
The Catholic Church is at a critical juncture. Pope Francis needs to address the scandals troubling the Church over recent decades, but risks opening a door to modernisation that may be difficult to close, says Sarah Dunant.
When the first bibles were printed in the 15th Century not everyone rejoiced. Some felt that communicating the word of God was the church’s business and should be kept in its hands. While I’m not equating the Pope’s use of Twitter with the printing press it’s interesting how many people are upset by it. Of course an image of His Holiness hunched over his mobile stabbing in 140 characters feels ludicrous. But give it some thought. Social media has revolutionised the way we gather news. You can bemoan the death of serious journalism, but many celebrate the immediacy of Twitter – how, often sliding under the radar of state security, it has speed and gives a voice to the people, offering a window onto history being made. If the faithful believe in the power of the Pope, why shouldn’t he speak to them directly through their mobiles? It’s worth nothing that the ten commandments are all conveniently Twitter length.
So what should the Pope be saying to his millions of followers (an apt use of the term perhaps)? Well, it’s hard to know where to start.
Many, even among the faithful, think the Catholic Church is in a mess. While it may not be selling indulgences (though the recent suggestion that those following the Pope could knock time off in purgatory makes one wonder), decades of financial scandal and particularly sexual abuse have exposed a level of moral decay which, if it were a democratically elected government or even a global corporation, would see voters or shareholders expressing public revulsion and fury.
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