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THE WORLDACCORDINGTO FRANCIS

POPE’S INFLUENCE IS FELT EVERYWHERE

INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMACY BROAD OUTREACH MATTHEW KELLY ON THE STATE OF CATHOLICISM

32 USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

Twitter isn’t exactly a “ho-ly” place. Instead ofpsalms and Scripture,people typically go therefor jocular observations

from wisecracking comedians,vapid musings from minor celeb-rities and motivational memesfrom saccharine strangers. Ifthey’re in the mood for civil dis-course, they might click a newsheadline or retweet a politician.

Generally, though, they’re there toconsume bite-sized bits of laugh-ter, bombast and vanity, and tobroadcast the same.

It might be the last place you’dexpect to find a pope.

And yet, there he is. Just fourdays after his election to the papa-cy, Pope Francis — @Pontifex tothe Twitterverse — sent his firsttweet: “Dear friends, I thank youfrom my heart and I ask you tocontinue to pray for me. PopeFrancis.” Three years later, the Ar-gentine ponti� has sent morethan 900 tweets in nine lan-guages, garnering more than 30million followers.

The typical Twitter feed looksnothing like a Sunday sermon —and that’s exactly why Franciswants to be there, according to

Michael O’Loughlin, national cor-respondent for the Catholic mag-azine America and author of TheTweetable Pope: A Spiritual Revo-lution in 140 Characters.

“Shortly after his election in2013, Pope Francis was in Rio forWorld Youth Day. He encouragedthe people gathered there to goback home and get out into thestreets to meet people where theyare,” O’Loughlin says. “That state-ment has a lot of layers, both prac-tically and theologically, but oneof them is pretty direct: Go wherepeople are. And for so many of us,that’s on social media. That’s howwe communicate now. I think thepope recognizes that.”

Clearly, he does: On Jan. 24,2016, he called modern communi-cations — including social media

GABRIEL BOUYS, AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Passing by aposter of thepope inRome, a pe-destrianchecks outFrancis’ In-stagram ac-count. He’s@franciscuson Instagram,@Pontifex onTwitter.

FINDFRANCIS IN YOURFEED

Pope spreads wordvia social media,but not FacebookMatt Alderton Special for USA TODAY

USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION 33

— “a gift of God which involves agreat responsibility.”

“It is not technology which de-termines whether or not commu-nication is authentic, but ratherthe human heart and our capacityto use wisely the means at our dis-posal,” Francis said in honor ofWorld Communications Day, es-tablished 50 years ago by PopePaul VI to draw attention to the“the vast and complex phenome-non of the modern means of so-cial communication.”

“Access to digital networks en-tails a responsibility for ourneighbor whom we do not see butwho is nonetheless real and has adignity which must be respected.The Internet can be used wiselyto build a society which is healthyand open to sharing.”

While it’s not a cat video or a

piece of celebrity shade, it’s a mes-sage that resonates. And Francis isuniquely positioned to make itviral.

SPIRITUAL ‘SOUND BITES’Credit for the Vatican’s socialmedia presence actually belongsto Francis’ predecessor, PopeBenedict XVI, who launched theo�cial @Pontifex Twitter ac-count in December 2012. Al-though he resigned from thepapacy less than three monthslater, his scant 39 tweets attractedan impressive 1.6 millionfollowers.

Francis, however, has takenthings to another level. “PopeFrancis is someone who speaksvery well in sound bites, and I

mean that as a compliment,”O’Loughlin says. “He says theseshort, staccato, yet thoughtfulmessages that stick with us, so it’svery easy for him to cut throughall the noise to get his messageout. That makes him perfectlysuited to social media — especiallyTwitter, where you’re limited inwhat you can put out there forpeople to read and digest. The re-sults for him have beenphenomenal.”

So phenomenal that Francis re-cently expanded his social foot-print, launching an Instagramaccount in March under the name@Franciscus, Latin for Francis.His images on the photo-sharingsite already have garnered nearly3 million followers.

“The reason people follow thesocial media accounts of celebri-

ties, or the president, or the popeis because they feel like there’s apersonal connection betweenthem and this other person,” saysBryan Crable, a communicationsprofessor at Villanova Universityand founder of the school’s Water-house Family Institute for theStudy of Communication and So-ciety, which has been sending stu-dents to Rome for semester-longinternships at the Vatican since2008. “Pope Francis is reallyadept at making people in largeglobal communities feel like theyhave a real human connectionwith him.”

At 79, Francis himself is fam-ously tech-shy. For him, however,it’s the message, not the medium,that matters. “I think it’s impor-

AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Pope Francis’first tweet onMarch 17,2013, askedfor prayers.Francis hasmore than 30 millionfollowers onTwitter; hisEnglish-languageaccount has about 10 million.

v STORY CONTINUES ON 34

34 USA TODAY SPECIAL EDITION

tant to know that while the popedoesn’t use technology himself,that doesn’t make him anti-tech-nology,” explains Jana Bennett, anassociate professor of theologicalethics at the University of Dayton.“He is interested in getting peopleto have a primary relationshipwith Jesus Christ, and he’s willingto communicate that in any wayhe can.”

A DIGITALDOWNSIDE?His social-media savvy is helpingthe pope reach new audiences, in-cluding millennials and non-Catholics, with his message ofmercy.

Some traditionalists, however,fear that social media will do theCatholic faith more harm thangood.

“It’s a double-edged sword forthe Vatican and for Pope Francisbecause every thought he has nowis amplified in ways it wasn’t forother popes,” O’Loughlin says. “Asa result, some conservativeCatholics are a little wary of hissocial media presence.”

That wariness could explain thepope’s absence from some socialnetworks, such as Facebook, evenas he flourishes on others. “Thepope is on Twitter and Instagrambecause the Vatican … thinksthose platforms can be controlleda bit more easily,” O’Loughlinsays.

Twitter and Instagram, he says,lend themselves to broadcasting,while Facebook demands a moreinteractive approach. “I’m told thepope is open to having some sortof presence on Facebook, but itrequires a lot more e�ort than(the Vatican) has time for rightnow.”

Facebook’s open nature makes

it especially problematic for insti-tutions that are magnets for criti-cism. “The things that people poston the pope’s Facebook page maynot be things that everyone whohas friended the pope wants tosee,” explains Crable, who sayschildren following the pope onFacebook could be exposed toadult themes and profanity inposts’ comments sections. “Areyou opening the church up to ridi-cule? Are you opening the churchup to conversations with peoplewho aren’t interested in dialogue— trolls who are only interested insaying mean things? That’s thedownside. If you’re going to par-ticipate in these forums, you’regoing to have to have all kinds ofconversations — not just the onesyou want.”

Although he’s not on Facebook,Francis has decided that most so-cial networks’ rewards outweightheir risks.

“He’s very aware that conversa-tions on social media can be vitri-olic and mean-spirited,” Bennettsays. “I think he’s trying to set anexample of how to use socialmedia in a merciful way.”

DIVINEDOWNLOADSThe pope’s example is resonatingwith Catholic organizations andindividuals around the world.

Among those following it, for in-stance, is Catholic Extension, aChicago-based fundraising or-ganization that supports under-resourced dioceses across thecountry. In honor of Pope Francis’2015 visit to the USA, it launchedthe “Flat Francis” social-mediacampaign, where Francis fanswere encouraged to share photosof themselves with a cartoon pon-ti� downloaded from the organi-zation’s website. More than 5,000people from all 50 states — in-cluding newsman AndersonCooper and Catholic comedianJim Ga�gan — did just that usingthe #flatfrancis hashtag.

“Catholic Extension is all abouttouching the lives of people in thepoorest regions of the UnitedStates. We were looking for a wayto connect to the 15 millionCatholics in those areas and makethe experience of Pope Franciscoming to the United States realfor them,” says the Rev. Jack Wall,president of Catholic Extension.“Francis is somebody who … re-minds us that there’s a joy deeperthan all the challenges we’re fac-ing. His message is to ‘encounterand engage,’ and this was a verysimple way of doing that.”

The same ethos inspired mo-bile marketing firm Swyft Mediato create a special “Pope Emoji”keyboard, also commemoratingFrancis’ U.S. visit. Commissioned

by global Catholic network Ale-teia, and produced in partnershipwith social media consultancySports Media Challenge, the key-board features tweetable and tex-table emoji and GIFs of PopeFrancis doing things like headinga soccer ball, taking selfies withfans and visiting U.S. landmarkslike the Liberty Bell.

“A picture truly is worth a thou-sand words,” says Swyft co-foun-der and vice president Evan Wray,who notes that more than 158,000users downloaded pope emoji andshared them more than 1 milliontimes, resulting in 32 million in-teractions. “The (Pope Emoji key-board) made it possible to bringthe brand of the pope and themessage of the pope into hun-dreds of thousands of people’s dai-ly conversations.”

Whether digital conversationswill put people in the pews re-mains to be seen. What’s clear inthe meantime is that the pope istalking — and more people thanever are listening.

“The pope wants to participateglobally in conversations aboutwhat it means to be human, to bea steward of the environment, andto care for those who are poor oroppressed,” Crable says. “Unlessyou’re willing to be engaged in on-line communication, you’re nolonger going to be a part of thoseconversations.”

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SWYFT MEDIA

Mobile mar-keting firmSwyft Mediacreated spe-cial papalemoji in hon-or of thepope’s visit tothe USA lastyear. Morethan 150,000people down-loaded them.