14 DAY TRIAL // Rev. Paolo Padrini, a “technology” priest, created an iTunes version of the Breviary, which he then made available for download to the Italian people, for a free trial. The new way of spreading the word of the Lord was ratified by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, which says that the use of technology for evangelizing shows that the Catholic Church can keep up with the times, in finding new ways of spreading its message across the world.
During the free trial period, some 10,000 Italians downloaded the application, which consists of three parts – the Breviary prayer book, translated in English, Latin, French, Spanish and Italian, with the German and Portuguese versions in the making, the prayers of the daily Mass, and a misc section, where a selection of other prayers can be found. Padrini says that the full version is available for download since earlier this month, and that the price averages at around 0.9 Euros (about $1.1).
Though people will have to pay the first time they download the application, Padrini and the Italian Web designer that contributed to the program say that all future upgrades to the software will be free. The money that will be gathered from purchases will go to charity, for people who are too sick to tend to themselves, the Vatican says.
Pope Benedict XVI supports the initiative, which is in line with his attitude towards drawing young people in the ranks of the church. He already sent text messages to a list of subscribing pilgrims, containing various quotes from the Bible, in an attempt to bring the truth of Christ closer to the youngsters in a way they can relate to.
The Vatican is not reluctant to new technology, as shown by the fact that it recently installed solar panels on one of its buildings, in an attempt to reduce its carbon footprint on the environment, as the Holy See is very keen on fighting global warming, having already hosted several scientific debates on the matter.