Hey, it is not really such a silly question is it? After all, we now have the new President of the United States of America giving regular video addresses on YouTube which comes as no real surprise given his apparent belief in Google Government.
In the UK there have been similar attempts to get government politics into the viral video age, such as the laughable Lords of YouTube incident. However, up until now, organised religion has usually only popped up in order to condemn the evil that is Internet video rather than praise it or, God forbid, actually embrace it.
That looks like all changing with the news, released by Google itself today, that with immediate effect the Vatican will be broadcasting on YouTube. The Vatican channel will include news clips to update the faithful and curious alike with regards to the Pope's daily activities. To be made available in English, Spanish, German and Italian the first video was broadcast today in the Press Room of the Holy See in Rome.
Although this contained clips of Pope Benedict XVI, such as his Christmas Message and Blessing, the Pope was not around to hype up the YouTube vids in person. So I guess that, unlike Obama, the answer will have to remain that no the Pope is not a YouTube user.
Father Federico Lombardi, Director of the Press Room, Television Center and Vatican Radio, contends that the launch of the Vatican Channel on YouTube is a real and tangible example of the Church's commitment in the field of new technologies, to reach out to a global audience without regard for nationality or culture. Meanwhile Henrique de Castro, Managing Director of European Sales and Media Solutions, YouTube, said: "YouTube is a communications platform open to all, where users, institutions and content producers come together in a global meeting place. We are honoured that the Vatican has chosen to use the site to communicate with people across the world, and delighted that our community will have access to the words of the Pope on some of the most important issues facing the world today."