Pope Benedict XVI has tweeted for the first time, announcing the launch of a Vatican news information portal. Benedict’s tweet on Tuesday read: “Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI”.

As part of an ongoing foray into digital media, the Vatican will unveil an online portal for papal news and information. The portal, which will aggregate information from the Vatican's various print, online, radio and television media into a single, centralized destination for all things papal, will be the most extensive online venture that the Vatican has undertaken yet.

The German-born pontiff has condemned rampant consumerism and bemoaned the abuse of the planet's resources in speeches, encyclicals and during overseas trips. He has warned that humanity risks destroying the planet's ecosystems unless it listens to "the voice of the earth".

Religious ideas and the people who represent them are indispensable tools in the pursuit of peace, justice and the common good, said the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, Miguel Diaz, in an address at The Catholic University of America.

The Vatican will unveil the latest installment in its social media transformation next week — a Facebook page dedicated to the upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II, officials said.

The Vatican will unveil the latest installment in its social media transformation next week - a Facebook page dedicated to the upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II, officials said.

The Catholic Church didn't really change its stance on condoms. Except that it did. For the past month, you could be forgiven for thinking that the Catholic Church had changed its position on condom use.

In his traditional Christmas message delivered Saturday to crowds braving winter's chill, Pope Benedict XVI urged peace in the Middle East and asked for God's comfort upon beleaguered Christian communities in Iraq and elsewhere in the region.