The Vatican, one of the places you would least suspect of being "hi-tech," used some of the latest technology to get the word out the Pope John Paul II had passed away. The Vatican communications office used a special text messaging system called "SMS" and e-mail to announce the Pope's passing.
Less than 15 minutes after the pope was pronounced dead on Saturday, the Vatican sent journalists an SMS message alerting them to a pending statement. Television networks across the globe were already on standby a minute later when the e-mail communique was beamed to a large number of state-of-the-art handheld computers, purchased by journalists at the suggestion of the Vatican.
As a result, TV viewers around the globe learned of the pope's death even before the thousands of faithful gathered in prayer below the pope's window in St. Peter's Square.
All of this, as well as the Catholic Church's efforts to keep the media informed of the Pope's health in the last few years, is a huge change from the secrecy surrounding previous pontifs, even as recently as the 1960s. For example, the Vatican kept Pope John XXIII's inoperable stomach cancer secret until just a few days before he died in June 1963.
Much of this can be attributed to Pope John Paul II himself. In February, he wrote a letter that the Church should not be shy of using the media, including the Internet, to spread its message, saying the "mass media can and must promote justice and solidarity."
Galileo would be proud.
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