Cardinal O'Malley really is a blogging cardinal!

Yep, he went and did it.

Cardinal O'Malley is officially a blogging cardinal. And, what's more, he seems to have adapted to the medium quite well.

His first post includes everything you'd expect to see in an average blog post, starting with little updates on the various things he did today (i.e., celebrating Mass, attending a meeting with the Presbyteral Council) to one of those obligatory "Thank you for visiting my blog" sentences.

The cardinal also manages to get in some teaching moments about who he is, what his role as a Cardinal is, and why he is going back to Rome. And understandably so. After all, I think it's a fair guess that the blog is an attempt to improve public relations by helping the people of Boston feel more connected to the head of their local Catholic church. Even so, the blog doesn't feel artificial or forced. Indeed, Cardinal Sean's first post is natural and endearing.

"Cardinal Sean" (as his blog seems to like calling him) even includes a couple nice bits about his "taking more books than I can possibly read [on the airplane to Rome]" and worrying that his carry-on bag won't be let past security. Cardinal Sean finally includes a hyperlink to a nice slideshow of images showcasing his installation as a cardinal earlier this year in Rome.

In short - as much as one can expect given the man's position - the Cardinal Sean blog feels like a "real" blog. Good for him!

Gee, I hope he blogrolls AmericanPapist soon.

One more thing: I still say that the Archdiocese of Boston IT department should let me take over the maintenance and design of the blog - currently the page has numerous formatting errors/visible coding tags. Come on guys, just have me handle it. Please?