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Pope Blesses Social Networks

But stresses risks of alienation.

First condoms, now Facebook—what will Pope Benedict endorse next? The 83-year-old pontiff said Monday that he supports the use of social networks, but urged people not to substitute virtual contact for actual contact. In an address titled “Truth, proclamation and authenticity of life in the digital age,” the pope did not mention any social networking site by name, but used the phrases “friend,” “sharing” and “profiles.” "In the search for sharing, for 'friends,’ there is the challenge to be authentic and faithful, and not give in to the illusion of constructing an artificial public profile for oneself,” the pope said. Although the pope himself does not have a Facebook page, the Vatican launched a website in 2009 called www.pope2you.net, with an application called “the Pope meets you on Facebook.”