What+Does+the+Church+Have+to+Say+About+Blogging?

Assignment #2
Expected time to __#|complete__ reading and the written assignment: 15 - 45 minutes

Your assignment for this segment is to post a SHORT reflection about what you learned from the [|RomeReports.com]video. Review the list of [|150 bloggers]invited to the blogger's summit in Rome. The posts would be made in May 2011. Notice the varied languages of the blogs. Pick a blog and look for posts that these bloggers added to their blogs regarding the conference.

What are you learning about the Vatican's first-ever conference in Rome for bloggers from the blogger perspective? From the RomeReport.com perspective? Please use the table below to share your answers.

Remember to select the "Edit" button, and by your name, add a perspective for each category. The table cells will expand to accommodate your comments. When you are done, be sure to click on "Save."
positive experience, Vatican wants to collaborate with and encourage bloggers || excited to host the event, wants participation from many different people/places, thinks bloggers are important to evangelization efforts || bloggers came together with a desire for community. || She reports that there were over 17 million pages on the internet in the first few days after the conference. Vatican is aware that bloggers play a part in shaping public opinion-more conferences perhaps at the diocesian levels. || Oversees an entire web site devoted to Catholic blogging. Appears she saw experience as positive, an indicator that the Church understands the phenom of social media and wants to utilize it. || Very excited to initiate the event and piggy backed it on the beatification of JP 2 to get more people interested in coming to the Vatican. It appears that the Church is aware that social media is a force in our society, especially with the young and they want to harness it for good and for evangelization. || Positive, excited about the event, her POV always includes humor and an embrace of the messiness of the human experience. She noted the importance of ethics in blogging, the grassroots nature of the blogging experience, and the value of holding each other accountable. || Felt that the Vatican environment was open, interested in utilizing new media. High energy and lots of positive interactions among the bloggers as they met each other face to face. She noted that many of the bloggers raised the issue "news parity", i.e., bloggers being given embargoed press releases at the same time as print journalists. || Prangley || Blogger: Anna Arco writes for the Catholic Hearld in the UK. Her perspective was that the conference was a very positive first __#|step__ in the Vatican's efforts to connect with the social media world. || The RomeReport conveys a very positive attitude by the Vatican towards blogging. It recognizes that blogging is a great means for the Church to communicate "outside of its walls". What particularly spoke to me was that professional bloggers and individual bloggers were invited to attend the conference. || Very grateful to be invited. Found it remarkable that the meeting took place at all. But " did occasionally wonder whether the distinction being made between the institutional Church (as represented by the Vatican officials) and the rest of us was perhaps a little too clear-cut. We are all members of the one Body. Maybe that is what we need to emphasize." || The RomeReport was aware of the power of blogging and the potential to be a positive voice for the Church online. Recognizes that this is a worldwide phenomenon. Also recognizes the diversity in bloggers and they proved that by all who were invited to attend the conference. || Amazed and sure that they would revoke her golden ticket at any moment. Her iPad wouldn't work so instead of blogging, she had to tweet. They handed out headphones so that all could understand the different languages the presenters spoke. Very exciting to be a part of a global church. "Is this a great religion or what?" Very democratic in a way (except that the Vatican committee chose the 150 seats). || The Vatican wanted to learn first hand the needs of the blogging community. Five languages were represented. Representatives were chosen by the quality of their blogs (criteria not shared). Wanted a strong presence of Catholic bloggers. || Susan said that if was an enjoyable experience with a focus on being “pastoral” and “wanting to listen” but time was limited. She wished the conference went longer so they had more time to share comments, experiences and direction. || It definitely shows a positive outlook. It states that they understand the need for social media in society. Emphasize the need to make sure that it is going in the right direction to do the most good. || http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2011/05/04/vatican-blogger-round-up/ "The Internet is a place without genuine boundaries. Unlike a magazine, its ideas are not contained between two covers with defined limits; unlike a television or radio broadcast, it is not subject to the constraints of time, or, for that matter, reliant upon sponsorship and underwriters. Such expansive freedom is both a gift and a terrible temptation to our egos, a force for disorientation and therefore a true battleground for souls."......... "In a sense the church is as wide and deep as the Internet, but wisely constrained by the boundaries of 2000 years of well-wrought reason, and the Truth of Christ, which overcomes all of our illusions and pretenses. Understanding that, bloggers and social media entrepreneurs have a duty to avoid the sort of narrowness of thought that is endemic to the echo chamber; we are fortunate to have a pope who has proved himself, in his book-length interviews with Peter Seewald and elsewhere, to be willing to put any idea throughout the wringer of Catholic analysis, because he is confident that a thorough discussion, rooted on the truth of Christ, will always lead us to the ends of Catholic orthodoxy, and so Pope Benedict is fearless and open, and in Christ’s truth, we can afford to be, too! We do nothing to speed glory to the Body of Christ if we are selective toward whom we will and will not reach out." || Overall from the blogs I read on this event as well as the RomeReports.com article and video, that there was a true hope and sense of dialogue, yet there remains some trepidation on the part of the magisterium, in my opinion because of being unable to control the message. It does show an openness to dialogue with the "new world" of internet & social media and we continue to see growth and true willingness, especially with Pope Francis, to engage the world just as Pope John XXIII did when he announced the Second Vatican Council. || I was curious about a non-American perspective on the conference. Albers blogs for the archdiocese of Essen, Germany and is predisposed to be positive, I would guess. But fellow German blogger Daniel Luecking (www.medienkonsument.de) had much the same reaction: impressed by the logistical organization, awareness of the need for adequate connectivity and electrical outlets, electronic communications, etc). These **are** Germans I was reading. High marks for organization. Especially surprised at how excited they themselves were to personally meet people they read themselves. Impressed by the complexity and diversity of the Blogosphere. Observation that it was a dialogue between a top-down culture (Vatican) and a bottom up culture (Blogs) || Hopes expressed in the Rome Reports video realized: outreach to the young opportunities to make new contacts and friends open new avenues of communication.
 * YOUR NAME || BLOGGER PERSPECTIVE || ROMEREPORT.COM PERSPECTIVE ||
 * Deanna Bartalini || Blogger Kathy Schiffer
 * Alison Smith || Blogger-Mary O'Regan-Irish journalist living in London.
 * Michelle Lemiesz || Blogger- Elizabeth Scalia
 * Susan McGurgan || =====Blogger: Susan Windley-Daoust: The Ironic Catholic.=====
 * Anne Marie
 * Jan Von Handorf || Blogger : Philomena Ewing – [|Blue Eyed Ennis]- gives voice to the sense of good will and buzz of excitement this event generated and hopes these two days will lead to continued openness and dialogue seeking understanding between the Church and “new forms of digital communicators.” She summarizes the highlights of the two days articulating the issues facing the blogging community, sharing snippets of the diverse perspectives using quotable quotes from participants, and providing visual interest through use of colorful pics from the conference. Links to full length presentations are also included. || The Vatican recognizes the wide-reaching influence bloggers have in spreading the Christian message and is interested in learning first-hand “the needs of the blogging community.” Goal: to open a dialogue between the Vatican and Christian (and non-believers!) bloggers that serves the mission of the Church. ||
 * Ed Reising || Blogger - Fr. Gabriel Burke - frgabrielburke.com - Very excited about the event and was surprised at the ratio of laity to clergy at the event. He included notes from the conference of which 2 stuck out to me: 1) "Blogging is about freedom. We blog because we want to build relationships", 2) He is not about egotism, "I prefer to put my name to the blog ... because I take responsibility for what I say." || A step in the direction toward opening up to newer ways of evangelizing. Opening up to the whole Christian community and not just the "Company line" handed down. Very positive approach. ||
 * Patti Gehred || Blogger: Benedictine nuns from Holy Trinity Monastery
 * Julie Scott || Blogger - Sue V. - Desperate Irish Housewife
 * Joan Fye || I chose blogger, Lisa Hendey, who writes on the [|catholicmom.com] website. She has her own website --.lisahendey.com She wanted to go to Rome and learned she had received an invitation, out of 750 applicants. Lisa said the goal of the blogosphere was, "allow for a dialogue between bloggers and Church representatives, to listen to the experiences of those who are actively involved in this arena, and to achieve a greater understanding of the needs of that community.” Then she said in her blog, "This meeting reinforces the [|directivesof Pope Benedict XVI on World Communications Day 2010], in which the Roman Pontiff challenged priests to “proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis.” In the blog there was a Twitter hash tag reference - "vbm11." || This course is so wonderful, in that it opens windows and doors, as C.T. #5 says //to put us in touch in intimacy with Christ// [and His Church]. We are living in the New Evangelization and moving forward as digital pilgrims on a journey, going out to all the world to tell the Good News! Thank you DDBC! ||
 * Connie Egan || I chose blogger RoccoPalmo (I enjoy his perspective on whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com) According to Rocco,The Vatican gathered 150 Catholic bloggers (out of 800 applications) from around the world on May 2, the day after the beatification of Pope John Paul II. The invited bloggers represented six languages. Rocco said as much as the Catholic blogosphere reflects the totality of the Church’s life, Rome wants to have a long view of the Church, but also to bring everyone together. It was a listening exercise and they came at it with very good faith. It’s an acknowledgement that the Church needs to listen and learn how this works, and to work with those who are doing it. As of 2011, there were 20 blogging Bishops in the United States. || I wanted to view the RomeReport one more time but apparently it has been taken down. It is my understanding that the conference, part of which Rocco moderated, was to look at the "power" of blogging and how the bloggers might partner with the Church. Some discussion was given to issuing press releases to the bloggers much as the information is shared with the traditional press. ||
 * Bob Wurzelbacher || I chose Digital Nun. Hers was a very interesting take. She considers herself a blogger who is Catholic, rather than a Catholic blogger, meaning she is just as likely to blog about "dogma" as she is "dogs". She also believes most bloggers are responsible and do their homework before posting, something I certainly disagree with. it seems to me that, most bloggers who are supposedly expressing Church teaching, are actually quick to judge and throw out opinions as if they are gospel. She seemed grateful but also a bit suspicious about talk of trying to establish some kind of official Catholic blog or accreditation. She did not seem to think any talk of forming some way to accredit some blogs had any worth. I have no idea how that would be done, but I would disagree with her take and think the question is worth asking. || I learned that there was a blogging summit, which I did not know. It was surprising to me, and I am curious as to how it went, and what has become of it in the past two years. I imagine it would have been very exciting to be among those chosen to come. It shows that the Vatican is aware of the great influence bloggers can have on evangelization, and how important it is to be a part of it. ||  ||
 * Patti Kamper || I chose blogger Carole Brown, from A Light to the Nations – Carole, like many others, talked about the Blogfest being a good first step. She mentioned that part of the Vatican’s concern was around the challenge of having egos go out of control and the challenge of charity. Carole also took away the realization of something she knew but never thought would be voiced…the Vatican radiates information out; they are not accustomed to feedback. It appears they are finding that maybe blogging offers a channel to address the mainstream media when they twist the message being radiated. The Vatican is realizing the importance of having a relationship with these bloggers. The Blogfest also taught Carole the value of sharing her voice in this type of forum and got her thinking about how she might want to pursue a blog with a different purpose. || The insight I gained from the Rome Report was that the Vatican intentionally chose a date which was near an event that would draw bloggers. To me, that showed their desire to be open and welcoming. I also think it’s important to see that the Church is realizing the power of this social media and is trying to harness the power for the good of the Church. ||
 * Kristen Ricker || Blogger: Susan Windley-Daoust [|http://www.ironiccatholic.com]
 * Terri Moser || Blogger Anna Arco of the UK. She described her excitement at meeting with other bloggers, and her frustration that "Blogs" were never really defined and differentiated from web pages. She was especially delighted by the French bloggers enthusiasm and passion, as the church in France has been represented in the press as without life or hope. Anna listed the genre's of Catholic blogs as follows: "news blogs, opinion blogs, evangelisation blogs, humorous blogs, blogs which describe religious life or offer a take on daily life." Evidently talk of "Vatican Certification for Bloggers" took place and thus, concern about orthodoxy of blog content was a topic of discussion, with no solution in the horizon. Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat for blogs can't practically be had so buyer beware! || To discover that this occurred two years ago gives me great hope that the Vatican had seen the value of Web 2.0 before even Pope Benedict XVI started tweeting from his iPad. ||
 * Cara Stolarczyk || Blogger Brandon Vogt (US) had expected the focus of the summit to center on ways that the Vatican can use new media but to his surprise, most of the dialogue focused not on Qs from the Vatican but on frustrations held by the bloggers. One topic was re: petition by another blogger Tom Peters to provide bloggers with some type of accreditation and access that most mainstream Catholic media personnel have. Also a heated discussion re: the topic of Church oversight ensued. A few bloggers wondered if there could be some sort of doctrinal approval for Catholic blogs, like a digital imprimatur. Questions ensued as to who would issue it, how would they possibly keep up and approve the millions of Catholic blog posts written every day online. Some passionate bloggers expressed aversion for any digital oversight. They explained that while they blog as Catholics, that doesn’t mean they desire that everything they write be measured against the stream of orthodoxy. Catholic bloggers, they claim, often blog personal thoughts and opinions that were never meant to represent official Church teaching. || Fr. Federico Lombardi, the head of the Vatican press office, revealed the Vatican's primary attitude toward new media is one of curiosity & humility. He reiterated that because the Vatican is new to this whole shift and isn't on the cutting edge of technology, the Church hopes to learn from the faithful how to harness these tools. In this way, the Body of Christ can work as one, using our strengths to overcome our weaknesses. The fact that they had this summit is so promising and exciting! ||
 * Pat Ruthemeyer || Blogger Carole Brown writes at [] She wrote the following after the meeting at the Vatican: "There were some really interesting people there, some of whom I read nearly every day ... They were, in some ways, less imposing in person than they seem in their writers voices. ...I suppose the outstanding insight that I gained from the brief time we had together is the articulation of something I already knew, but wouldn't have been able to say before. Vatican communication radiates out from the center to everywhere else. It isn't really set up for feedback, and doesn't "really" look for feedback about what has been understood and received, and what has been twisted by mainstream media, by looking at the interactive commentary that goes on in the blogs. And the bloggers are often helping bring sound discernment to people at the grassroots level. ...I think in being there that I got a deeper sense of the value of writing in a forum like this, and it also has prompted thoughts of developing a different kind of blog, with a different purpose from this one. Still brewing on that ...There was an alternative blogmeet the next day for the 600+ other bloggers who were in Rom but who did not make the list. || It was interesting to discover that this meeting took place two years ago. It indicates that the Vatican sees value in taking a proactive stance on use of the new media. Carole Brown's observations about the (1) the actual vs. perceived reality of meeting her favorite bloggers and (2) the receptivity of the Vatican to feedback (at least at the time this meeting took place) were both very interesting observations ||
 * Dave Gruber || Elizabeth Scalia
 * Pam Neumann || Blogger Jens Albers, Essen, Germany www.frischfischen.de

Announcement of the Online Portal, www.news.va, as a reliable source of information accessible to everyone was recognition of the importance of bloggers. ||
 * Loretta Nazario || Blogger Hilary White, [|http://anglocath.blogspot.com] . She is a Canadian Catholic with a somewhat irreverent take on the happenings. Not disrespectful, just poking fun at parts of it where it earned it. Her blog tends to be numerous short entries. || Per Hilary:We all really did have a wonderful time. The discussion was lively and interesting and covered well the complexities of the relationship between the bloggosphere/new media and the Church. In general, we asked and discussed, how being a blogger and a Catholic influences our lives and the Church. How does this strange and sometimes somewhat scary new method of instant communication and information-retrieval affect us, affect the Church and how can we use it correctly?

The panel discussion went on for nearly an hour and a half, and in the end no one seemed to want to stop.

<span style="background-color: #c0a154; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">We had people there from Italy, the US and Canada and had some people there with <span style="background-color: #c0a154; color: #993322; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-decoration: none;">[|fairly] [|well-known] <span style="background-color: #c0a154; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Tahoma,Helvetica,FreeSans,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> bloggy profiles. || Fr. Louie was excited to be the only Filipino blogger selected to attend the meeting. In his blog post about the meeting, he seems to give a general overview of the meetings and its goals. He was excited about the dialogue the Vatican was seeking through this event. || The Vatican acknowledges that the younger generations are in the blogosphere, and they want to explore that area to increase the Catholic presence there. They are hopeful that it will lead to evangelization of the youthful generations. || Impressed by the numbers and diversity of attendees. Thinks that the church realizes that the voice of the faithful can be heard anywhere and anytime and ambracing bloggers can help spread the word. || Seems similar - that to get the word out to increasigly more peopel, ans younger generations, blogging is an avenue to do so. || Blanco || Blog: Kathy Schiffer, director of publicity and special events for Ave Maria Radio Encourages bloggers to collaborate with the Vatican in this new venue for communiting the faith. || Bloggers are important to the new evangelization. She will continue her efforts through blogging and is excited about the opportunities. ||
 * Barb SK || Elizabeth Scalia in her blog, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2011/05/03/remarks-delivered-at-vbm11/, was very positive about the bloggers' meeting. She is excited about spreading the gospel in a world truly without boundaries. || The Vatican is positive and optimistic about the benefits of blogging in the world. It is likely that the Vatican will move quickly (as it has done in these recent months) to become a more 'tech savy' institution. It is kudos to a huge institution leading millions of people from various lifestyles and techy situations to go beyond the past comforts into the present and future. ||
 * Sarah Pascual || Fr. Louie Coronel -@http://prieststuff.blogspot.com/2011/05/vatican-meeting-of-bloggers.html
 * Teresa Phillips || Blog: The Path Less Taken
 * Barb