Blogging+-+What+Does+the+Church+Have+to+Say+About+Blogging?

Assignment # 2

Expected time to complete reading and the written assignment: 15 - 45 minutes

Your assignment for this segment is to post a SHORT reflection about what you learned from the [|RomeReports.com]video. Review the list of [|150 bloggers]invited to the blogger's summit in Rome. Notice the varied languages of the blogs. Pick a blog and look for posts that these bloggers added to their blogs regarding the conference.

What are you learning about the Vatican's first-ever conference in Rome for bloggers from the blogger perspective? From the RomeReport.com perspective?

Post your response to the question below using the following format:

Question: What are you learning about the Vatican first-ever conference in Rome from each perspective?

1) It was an international gathering that was wonderful and new but did not reveal how blogging plays out in different cultures. The presentations were interesting but there was very little sense that blogging as a form of writing is inculturated; it is not the same everywhere. 2) She would have liked discussion on how bloggers and Vatican officials can help Catholics trying to write in countries hostile to religion in general and Catholicism in particular. 3) The Vatican officials said they are considering redesigning Vatican.va and adding a news feed - news.va. Susan asked that they pay attention to issues of disability access and suggested sound for the hearing impaired and larger font for the sight impaired. 4) There was a clear concern on the part of the Vatican officials that people get accurate information that is easy to access. Susan commented that while regulation is impractical, bloggers should not get a "complete free pass on the information highway" as as Christians we have a moral oblication to represent the faith as rightly as we can under our own circumstances and given our abilities. We are always missionaries. 5) The point was raised but not discussed on how to blog morally. Susan concluded that Catholic bloggers need their own code of conduct and also need to hold each other accountable - charitably! She hinted that she would personally be happy to accept a code of moral conduct from the Vatican Office of Social Communication. So, from this bloggers perspective, bring it all on! The conversations with the Vatican and with each other should ensue. || The Rome Reports perspective was matter of fact, a "news report." It stated that because Catholic bloggers were going to be in town for the beatification of John Paul II, the Vatican Office of Social Communication decided to ask 150 of these bloggers to share their experience. It said that the Church wants the Word to be present in the blogosphere and that it/she started its/her research on such by creating this opportunity with these already-present Catholic bloggers to make contacts and friends. ||
 * YOUR NAME || BLOGGER PERSPECTIVE || ROMEREPORT.COM PERSPECTIVE ||
 * Lorraine S. DeLuca || There were four days of blogs from [] and mostly there were descriptions of the main topics discussed each day and who presented. The blogger shared the view of the Vatican that bloggers are important to the Church because they provide for a dialogue between faith and the world, and an important way to make the Gospel more widely available. There was the caution presented that bloggers have to make sure their blog is not just pushing their own agenda but the Church's perspective on topics. The blogger stated that some at the meeting disagreed "saying that the church has missed the point of 'social' communication." This blogger mainly reported on what was presented rather than his personal thoughts. || The Vatican held the meeting with the hopes that the meeting would establish contacts with people familiar with the blogosphere, who especially reach out to the young people of the church and the world who are found there. ||
 * Madeleine Vessel || I decided to reflect on //**Whispers in Loggia**// http://www.whispersintheloggia.bogspot.com published by Rocco Palmo, who has contributed to the London-based Catholic weekly //The Tablet// and served as a church analyst for //The New York Times, The Washington Post,// and other well known newspapers. I was drawn to the blog because its entries were well-written and included attributed research. In other words, the entries were not just stream of consciousness excerpts. I also was attracted by the title of the current blog entry, "God Speaks Through the Silence". As you know, I am interested in silence as a pathway to God. Though the blog has been around since 2004, I found no reference to the bloggers' summit in Rome. ||  ||
 * Joanna Haston || Sara Carlson of foryourmarriage.org/marriage-resources/news-blogs/learning-to-say-i-do-blog/ said not a world about her experience. Gratefully, however, it was quite easy to back up to the dates in question. Everything in this blog, as to be expected, is about mariage and being married. It's a great USCCB resource, if anyone is looking for such a thing! ||  ||
 * Joanna Haston || For my second attempt I went to Susan Windley-Daoust of ironiccatholic.com and had a great time with lots of good laughs. However, to get back to May 2011 was excrutiatingly painful as I had to scroll down to the bottom of each page and hit "Older Posts." I finally got to May and enjoyed reading about her "tourist" experiences in Rome, but when I hit the link to the actual blogger meeting, my computer sort of froze/crashed and I had to shut it down. Wait! I got back in and I am so glad that I did. On Tuesday, 3 May, Susan summarized the meeting saying it was friendly and warm, there was a "let's get people who blog together and see what happens" feeling without an agenda, and it was enjoyable. She mentioned that even tho' the Vatican officials said repeatedly that they wanted to listen to the bloggers, the set-up and timeframe did not allow for it. It was clear to her that what was talked about at this meeting was the tip of the iceberg, and she had the following 5 reflections:
 * Joanna Haston || For my second attempt I went to Susan Windley-Daoust of ironiccatholic.com and had a great time with lots of good laughs. However, to get back to May 2011 was excrutiatingly painful as I had to scroll down to the bottom of each page and hit "Older Posts." I finally got to May and enjoyed reading about her "tourist" experiences in Rome, but when I hit the link to the actual blogger meeting, my computer sort of froze/crashed and I had to shut it down. Wait! I got back in and I am so glad that I did. On Tuesday, 3 May, Susan summarized the meeting saying it was friendly and warm, there was a "let's get people who blog together and see what happens" feeling without an agenda, and it was enjoyable. She mentioned that even tho' the Vatican officials said repeatedly that they wanted to listen to the bloggers, the set-up and timeframe did not allow for it. It was clear to her that what was talked about at this meeting was the tip of the iceberg, and she had the following 5 reflections:
 * Paul Thomas || I checked out the Irish Dominican blog invited as one of the 150 selected to attend. I didn't see much on their blog about the event except one entry that expressed some excitement in attending. Primarily, the excitement seemed to be directed at the opportunity to meet with other bloggers who were also invited. I also looked at several of the other 150 blogs as well, including the many languages represented. I noticed a fairly consistent level of professionalism in terms of layout among all the ones I clicked. I think the design of the blog is definitely important in attracting readers. Even for myself I notice a tendency to dismiss or ignore blogs that do not have an appealing design. Without understanding all the languages selected, it seem to me the conference strove to make their selection based on a minimum amount of professionalism, design, and content. || The Rome Report struck me as a PR piece to make the point that the Catholic Church wanted to connect with their digital natives. Also, behind the PR I saw a sincere effort and desire to utilize all the technological means available to proclaim the gospel. ||