In the face of some pretty difficult times, Pope Francis has been trying to restore public faith in the Catholic Church and unlike his predecessors, Pope Francis has been embracing modern technology to try and bring younger people back into the church. To do that, Pope Francis has already embraced Twitter and will be holding his second video chat with members of the public using Google Hangouts later this week.
Pope Francis will be online this Thursday starting 10 AM EST/ 4 PM CET and will be specifically talking with children with disabilities and special needs in Brazil, India, Spain, and the United States. The Hangout has been put together in conjunction with Scholas Ocurrentes, an organization that the Pope entrusts to unites schools worldwide, regardless of race, gender, class or sexual orientation. The Hangout will be live from the Vatican, and it will be Pope Francis speaking directly to the children involved. The Google for Education blog has put together a trailer using footage from his first Hangout, held back in September of last year, which you can watch below.
While I’m no believer, personally, it is nice to see the Catholic Church embrace technology like this, and I’m sure that this sort of thing will help restore some faith in an increasingly jaded younger generation. Many have looked upon the Catholic Church as a secretive, and at times corrupt, organization with Pope Francis looking to restore trust and return the Church’s numbers to what they used to be. Pope Francis also joins Google’s ever-growing list of celebrities that have appeared on Google+ Hangouts over the years, like David Beckham, Brad Pitt, Aziz Ansari and Tyra Banks among others. If you know someone that would like to hear what the Pope has to say, then they can follow along live thanks to Hangouts on Air come this Thursday at 4PM CET.