Back in December I noted how SMS was being used in religious communication. (see 19/12/06 Divine Intervention) Now it seems it’s got all the way to the top- well nearly.
John Paul II’s words are now available in the form of a daily text message. A new service has been set up by Vodafone and Joaquin Navarro Valls, who worked for 16 years as John Paul II’s personal spokesman. The quotations, which cost 18p for a simple message or 26p with a photograph of John Paul, have been picked by Mr Navarro Valls, who now works as a commentator on the Vatican. It would appear that the late pope was a fan of technology, and was the first pontiff to use a mobile phone to personally send his close circle and his fans inspirational messages. Peggy Noonan, the author of John Paul the Great, said: “He would text message us things like: ‘Don’t be afraid of your inability to reach God. Keep trying!’.”