O Click All Ye Faithful: "O Click All Ye Faithful
The nun who launched the Vatican's Web site is at work on a MySpace for Catholics
Deep inside the Vatican, a white-haired nun dressed in a brown habit opens the door to a room full of computers. The whirring machines hold some of the mysteries of the Holy See, including photographs of the Vatican Secret Archives and of ancient illustrated manuscripts. No, this isn't a movie trailer for The Da Vinci Code. Our guide is Sister Judith Zoebelein, the editorial director of the Internet Office of the Holy See. She's showing off a small but potent Vatican data center, which bristles with servers and other high-tech gear.
It's no secret that the Vatican has a fantastic Web site. It brims with fine art and practical information about the Catholic Church. The site, www.vatican.va, which comes in six languages, was even nominated for a prestigious Webby Award a few years back. But little is known about the woman who is behind it. Sister Judith, a 57-year-old American, grew up in a middle-class household in the Hamptons on the eastern tip of Long Island. She and a handful of colleagues were Internet pioneers when, in 1995, they launched the Vatican Web site. Since then, she has greatly expanded the site, including images of art from the Vatican Museums, a powerful search engine, and videos of restoration projects.
Now Sister Judith is creating a second Vatican Web site, set for launch in the fall, that is aimed at bringing together the faithful so they can interact. Think of it as MySpace.com (NWS ) for Catholics. There will be personal news updates, e-learning programs, and areas set aside for families, young people, and parishes. Collaboration is key, and that should differentiate the site from others "
Saturday, April 29, 2006
O Click All Ye Faithful
The nun who launched the Vatican's Web site is at work on a MySpace for Catholics
Deep inside the Vatican, a white-haired nun dressed in a brown habit opens the door to a room full of computers. The whirring machines hold some of the mysteries of the Holy See, including photographs of the Vatican Secret Archives and of ancient illustrated manuscripts. No, this isn't a movie trailer for The Da Vinci Code. Our guide is Sister Judith Zoebelein, the editorial director of the Internet Office of the Holy See. She's showing off a small but potent Vatican data center, which bristles with servers and other high-tech gear.
It's no secret that the Vatican has a fantastic Web site. It brims with fine art and practical information about the Catholic Church. The site, www.vatican.va, which comes in six languages, was even nominated for a prestigious Webby Award a few years back. But little is known about the woman who is behind it. Sister Judith, a 57-year-old American, grew up in a middle-class household in the Hamptons on the eastern tip of Long Island. She and a handful of colleagues were Internet pioneers when, in 1995, they launched the Vatican Web site. Since then, she has greatly expanded the site, including images of art from the Vatican Museums, a powerful search engine, and videos of restoration projects.
Now Sister Judith is creating a second Vatican Web site, set for launch in the fall, that is aimed at bringing together the faithful so they can interact. Think of it as MySpace.com (NWS ) for Catholics. There will be personal news updates, e-learning programs, and areas set aside for families, young people, and parishes. Collaboration is key, and that should differentiate the site from others in its genre. "People will be able to find each other and work together online, and then go back and use what they have learned or done in their own communities," says Sister Judith.
WINDING PATH
The new site will likely boost visitor traffic, as well. The current Vatican site typically gets about 1 million unique visitors per month, though when Pope John Paul II died last April, it spiked up to 1.8 million U.S. visitors, according to traffic tracker Nielsen//NetRatings. That temporarily put it in the same league with the most popular religious destinations including Beliefnet, a multi-faith site, and the Mormon church's site.
How did an English major from a tony American beach town end up becoming the Internet nun? It was a winding path, but a search for meaning in life runs through it. After graduating from Hofstra University on Long Island, where she studied Irish drama, Sister Judith joined the Peace Corps and spent two years teaching English in rural Thailand. Later, back in the U.S., she studied to teach English as a second language. But meeting a group of nuns, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, rekindled her childhood Catholicism, and she joined the abbey in Meriden, Conn. "I was looking for something meaningful and eternal," she says.
As a member of the abbey, Sister Judith got assignments with social service agencies that landed her in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the years, she took an interest in computers and set up computer networks and telecommunications systems in relief agency offices around the world. She was called to the Vatican in 1991 to help out with its computing chores. "She had the skills, and she was also very much an international personality -- thanks to all of her travel," recalls Mother General Shaun Vergauwen of the Franciscan Sisters.
Sister Judith identified the Web's potential shortly after it exploded on the scene in the mid-1990s. She and a small group of Vatican techies took the idea of launching a Web site to John Paul, who quickly gave them the go-ahead. It was a humble beginning: Sister Judith posted one Web page containing a single document, the Pope's 1995 Christmas Message. But the site expanded rapidly and now contains a huge storehouse of information -- not just for the faithful but for art lovers, historians, and tourists.
Two features stand out. For Catholics, the search engine is a powerful tool to help them explore their faith. Type in a keyword such as "forgiveness," and you'll get results organized around various sources, including the Pope, the Catechism, and the saints. For aficionados of Renaissance art, the site is a revelation because of its use of 360-degree photography of the Vatican's galleries and close-ups of artworks. Many of the Vatican's finest paintings are ceiling frescoes. The only practical way to see them close up is on the Web site. "This is an example of the Web providing an experience that can't be had in the real world," says Tiffany Shlain, founder of the Webby Awards.
Now, with the coming of the new faith-based community site, Sister Judith is satisfying an evangelical drive that she has felt since her Peace Corps days. For her, the Net is the ultimate way to reach millions of people and to connect them with their deity. "It's about something much bigger than myself, and it's also very Franciscan: You can touch it, you can change it, and you can touch people with it," she says.
While Sister Judith is quick to embrace the latest technological innovations, don't expect to see Vatican bloggers anytime soon. A blog is "so personal, such a mind dump," she says. On the Internet, the Vatican draws the line at self-indulgence. Pride, remember, is one of the seven deadly sins.
The nun who launched the Vatican's Web site is at work on a MySpace for Catholics
Deep inside the Vatican, a white-haired nun dressed in a brown habit opens the door to a room full of computers. The whirring machines hold some of the mysteries of the Holy See, including photographs of the Vatican Secret Archives and of ancient illustrated manuscripts. No, this isn't a movie trailer for The Da Vinci Code. Our guide is Sister Judith Zoebelein, the editorial director of the Internet Office of the Holy See. She's showing off a small but potent Vatican data center, which bristles with servers and other high-tech gear.
It's no secret that the Vatican has a fantastic Web site. It brims with fine art and practical information about the Catholic Church. The site, www.vatican.va, which comes in six languages, was even nominated for a prestigious Webby Award a few years back. But little is known about the woman who is behind it. Sister Judith, a 57-year-old American, grew up in a middle-class household in the Hamptons on the eastern tip of Long Island. She and a handful of colleagues were Internet pioneers when, in 1995, they launched the Vatican Web site. Since then, she has greatly expanded the site, including images of art from the Vatican Museums, a powerful search engine, and videos of restoration projects.
Now Sister Judith is creating a second Vatican Web site, set for launch in the fall, that is aimed at bringing together the faithful so they can interact. Think of it as MySpace.com (NWS ) for Catholics. There will be personal news updates, e-learning programs, and areas set aside for families, young people, and parishes. Collaboration is key, and that should differentiate the site from others in its genre. "People will be able to find each other and work together online, and then go back and use what they have learned or done in their own communities," says Sister Judith.
WINDING PATH
The new site will likely boost visitor traffic, as well. The current Vatican site typically gets about 1 million unique visitors per month, though when Pope John Paul II died last April, it spiked up to 1.8 million U.S. visitors, according to traffic tracker Nielsen//NetRatings. That temporarily put it in the same league with the most popular religious destinations including Beliefnet, a multi-faith site, and the Mormon church's site.
How did an English major from a tony American beach town end up becoming the Internet nun? It was a winding path, but a search for meaning in life runs through it. After graduating from Hofstra University on Long Island, where she studied Irish drama, Sister Judith joined the Peace Corps and spent two years teaching English in rural Thailand. Later, back in the U.S., she studied to teach English as a second language. But meeting a group of nuns, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, rekindled her childhood Catholicism, and she joined the abbey in Meriden, Conn. "I was looking for something meaningful and eternal," she says.
As a member of the abbey, Sister Judith got assignments with social service agencies that landed her in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the years, she took an interest in computers and set up computer networks and telecommunications systems in relief agency offices around the world. She was called to the Vatican in 1991 to help out with its computing chores. "She had the skills, and she was also very much an international personality -- thanks to all of her travel," recalls Mother General Shaun Vergauwen of the Franciscan Sisters.
Sister Judith identified the Web's potential shortly after it exploded on the scene in the mid-1990s. She and a small group of Vatican techies took the idea of launching a Web site to John Paul, who quickly gave them the go-ahead. It was a humble beginning: Sister Judith posted one Web page containing a single document, the Pope's 1995 Christmas Message. But the site expanded rapidly and now contains a huge storehouse of information -- not just for the faithful but for art lovers, historians, and tourists.
Two features stand out. For Catholics, the search engine is a powerful tool to help them explore their faith. Type in a keyword such as "forgiveness," and you'll get results organized around various sources, including the Pope, the Catechism, and the saints. For aficionados of Renaissance art, the site is a revelation because of its use of 360-degree photography of the Vatican's galleries and close-ups of artworks. Many of the Vatican's finest paintings are ceiling frescoes. The only practical way to see them close up is on the Web site. "This is an example of the Web providing an experience that can't be had in the real world," says Tiffany Shlain, founder of the Webby Awards.
Now, with the coming of the new faith-based community site, Sister Judith is satisfying an evangelical drive that she has felt since her Peace Corps days. For her, the Net is the ultimate way to reach millions of people and to connect them with their deity. "It's about something much bigger than myself, and it's also very Franciscan: You can touch it, you can change it, and you can touch people with it," she says.
While Sister Judith is quick to embrace the latest technological innovations, don't expect to see Vatican bloggers anytime soon. A blog is "so personal, such a mind dump," she says. On the Internet, the Vatican draws the line at self-indulgence. Pride, remember, is one of the seven deadly sins.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Out of order: An Ontario priest's excommunication for forming a church that ordains women is being felt in Rome and beyond:
"Out of order: An Ontario priest's excommunication for forming a church that ordains women is being felt in Rome and beyond
Anne Marie Owens, National Post
Published: Saturday, April 22, 2006
This is a story about two men, co-workers in a large international organization, who have each decided to stand by their principles and suffer the ensuing fallout.
One man, 56, has lost his job, his salary, his home, and has been formally ostracized from the community which he has called home for two decades and which he still professes to love deeply.
The other man is his 67-year-old boss, who may become the fall guy for upholding the wishes of the organization for which he has worked for most of his life and whose rules he champions with dedication and a passion.
It is a story about the dilemma facing the modern-day Roman Catholic church, and how the clash between two strong-minded, deeply devout men -- a priest and a bishop -- has repercussions being felt far beyond the small Ontario community in which they live and work and pray.
When Rev. Ed Cachia says mass tomorrow in a modest memorial hall in Cold Spring, near Peterborough, Ont., it will be his third service as an excommunicated priest, disciplined by Bishop Nicola De Angelis for a stance on the ordination of women that has been labelled as heretical and schismatic by one side, reformist or courageous by the other."
Please read the full article and give us your opinion . We will publish your comments.
"Out of order: An Ontario priest's excommunication for forming a church that ordains women is being felt in Rome and beyond
Anne Marie Owens, National Post
Published: Saturday, April 22, 2006
This is a story about two men, co-workers in a large international organization, who have each decided to stand by their principles and suffer the ensuing fallout.
One man, 56, has lost his job, his salary, his home, and has been formally ostracized from the community which he has called home for two decades and which he still professes to love deeply.
The other man is his 67-year-old boss, who may become the fall guy for upholding the wishes of the organization for which he has worked for most of his life and whose rules he champions with dedication and a passion.
It is a story about the dilemma facing the modern-day Roman Catholic church, and how the clash between two strong-minded, deeply devout men -- a priest and a bishop -- has repercussions being felt far beyond the small Ontario community in which they live and work and pray.
When Rev. Ed Cachia says mass tomorrow in a modest memorial hall in Cold Spring, near Peterborough, Ont., it will be his third service as an excommunicated priest, disciplined by Bishop Nicola De Angelis for a stance on the ordination of women that has been labelled as heretical and schismatic by one side, reformist or courageous by the other."
Please read the full article and give us your opinion . We will publish your comments.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
During his 26 years as Pope, John Paul came to see Canada and its 13 million Roman Catholics three times -- in 1984, 1987 and 2002 -- for a total of 21 days. The stays were brief, but like the fleeting encounter that helped nourish the Parson family's faith, the papal visits are woven into the fabric of the communities he toured and into the history of the country, leaving an indelible imprint on countless lives.
The 1984 tour -- a gruelling, 12-day, coast-to-coast odyssey that came at perhaps the height of the Pope's global ministry -- stands apart for its scope and significance. It was the first time a serving pope had set foot on Canadian soil.
The visit came at a time when Church teachings about birth control and divorce were being challenged by rapidly shifting social attitudes. The sense that the Pope was arriving in Canada during an era of difficult adjustment and sweeping change was reinforced by the fact that he was greeted at the start of his tour in Quebec City by Liberal prime minister John Turner and escorted upon his departure from Ottawa's airport by newly elected Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, sworn in just days before.
© National Post
The 1984 tour -- a gruelling, 12-day, coast-to-coast odyssey that came at perhaps the height of the Pope's global ministry -- stands apart for its scope and significance. It was the first time a serving pope had set foot on Canadian soil.
The visit came at a time when Church teachings about birth control and divorce were being challenged by rapidly shifting social attitudes. The sense that the Pope was arriving in Canada during an era of difficult adjustment and sweeping change was reinforced by the fact that he was greeted at the start of his tour in Quebec City by Liberal prime minister John Turner and escorted upon his departure from Ottawa's airport by newly elected Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, sworn in just days before.
© National Post
Friday, April 07, 2006
winnipegsun.com - World - Pope confronted Nazism: "VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict said yesterday he was convinced he should become a priest to help confront what he called the 'anti-human culture' of the Nazis in his native Germany.
Benedict made the comments during a meeting with thousands of young people in St. Peter's Square during which he took questions from students on issues such as the family, how to read the Bible and faith and reason.
Asked by one student how he realized his own priestly vocation, the 78-year-old pontiff said that when he was young in Germany it was more 'normal' to accept faith and vocations than it is today.
'There was the Nazi regime,' Benedict said. 'We were told very loudly that in the new Germany 'there will not be anymore priests, there will be no more consecrated life, we don't need this anymore, find another profession.' ' "
Benedict made the comments during a meeting with thousands of young people in St. Peter's Square during which he took questions from students on issues such as the family, how to read the Bible and faith and reason.
Asked by one student how he realized his own priestly vocation, the 78-year-old pontiff said that when he was young in Germany it was more 'normal' to accept faith and vocations than it is today.
'There was the Nazi regime,' Benedict said. 'We were told very loudly that in the new Germany 'there will not be anymore priests, there will be no more consecrated life, we don't need this anymore, find another profession.' ' "
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
What do you think ? Should this man become a Saint?
Pope Paul -a legend in his own time.
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Pope Paul -a legend in his own time.
Would you like to vote on this issue?
You can participate by signing a petition
Contact us
Our founder , Father McGivney was a man of action. His simple courage, intellect and will created a positive force that transended him. The Knights of Columbus is one of the largest Catholic fraternal orgainizations in the world today. If you are a man of action that wants to make a constructive difference and enjoy the company and fraternity of other like minded men - come join us . We would be happy to talk to you.
Welcome to the first addition of the Brant-Knights of Columbus . Council 9262 will post regularly on this site to keep its members and the public informed about its activity in the community of Brant.
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