Today Pope Benedict announced that he’s going to retire–here’s a CNN News Article on it. This may not sound like a big deal, but he is the first Pope to do this in 600 years. I hope he sets a precedence for whoever follows him.
But, what is a Pope to do after retiring from being the Vicar of Christ? (I’m not even sure one can retire from that) I for one hope that he keeps tweeting. I have really enjoyed some of his musings. What I like about them is that they seem to be genuine and come from a place of real love. Who knows if he actually wrote any of this stuff, but I hope he did. Here are a couple tweets bearing his name.
Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.
— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012
We must trust in the mighty power of God’s mercy. We are all sinners, but His grace transforms us and makes us new.
— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) February 10, 2013
Every human being is loved by God the Father.No one need feel forgotten, for every name is written in the Lord’s loving Heart.
— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) January 30, 2013
Unlike other religious leaders, especially in the Evangelical world, I have found the Popes tweets to be uplifting.
Now we may not agree on everything, I am an ELCA Lutheran, but I’m willing to guess there is a lot we do agree on.
I hope that the next Pope that’s chosen will use social media wisely and upliftingly* not only for Roman Catholics, but the world.
-jpserrano
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*not a real word