13/11/2009

Bishops and cardinals will be meeting representatives from several major internet corporations to discuss how to increase the Holy See's online communications and visibility.

Representatives from Facebook, Google, YouTube and Wikipedia will meet with church officials at the gathering, along with an Interpol cybercrime expert and a young Swiss hacker known only as 'Petit Frere Bruno'.

Speaking to the Times, Cardinal Josip Bozanic, Archbishop of Zagreb, said: 'We have to ask ourselves how to achieve a relationship between old and new cultures.'

He added: 'The Church began to communicate 2000 years ago, and needs to be up to date with modern means of communication.'

The move is seen as a step by the church to better understand and work through the internet age, especially with the recent actions of Pope Benedict XVI bringing so much international controversy.

The Pope's recent decision to simply rehabilitate a bishop who made anti-Semitic remarks, coupled with his continual condemnation of condom use in Aids-stricken Africa has meant that the Papacy needs to make more of a move to connect with modern audiences.