Papist facebook application: "Pope Quotes"

I don't mind admitting that I'm addicted to Facebook, a social networking website that (sadly) no longer requires a ".edu" email address to join. I still find it a far safer and less offensive way than MySpace to keep in touch with my friends and people I meet at conferences, etc.

Recently Facebook has added the option of installing third-party applications, and one of the few (only?) "papist" applications being offered is called Pope Quotes. It was created my MyChurch.org, and while I can't vouch for their work as a whole, this application is a good way to remind your Facebook friends (as well as yourself) what a treasury of wisdom Catholics have in their Pontiffs.

Below are the two most recent Pope Quotes this application provided. You can also see what the application looks like on your Facebook profile page. The quotation refreshes each time the page is visited. Other users have complained that there aren't enough quotes and that the ones they have are too "ecumenical." Oh well, it's a start. Maybe some motivated folks can suggest some additional ones to the MyChurch team. So far about 600 people have installed this application, including eight of my well-disposed friends.

(By-the-by, I limit my Facebook friends list to people I have met in real life, so unless you are in the Washington DC or Ann Arbor area and we have a chance of meeting, I decline new requests.)

The phenomenon of Catholics on facebook or using facebook actively for ministry is an exciting one that probably deserves a post of its own eventually. I know several youth groups and Catholic clubs that utilize Facebook to organize and keep people updated. There are many, many Catholic groups. I even know a few parish priests who are on Facebook to make themselves more easily accessible by their younger parishioners.

It gets fun when they put under the Employer question: "Jesus of Nazareth."

Update: "As long as we are talking about the Pope and Facebook, might I mention the 'Papal Facebook Initiative'? The goal is to get a million members then petition the Pope to get a Facebook account. - Justin."

I had forgotten I was a member of this group. It has about 4,500 people right now, so it could use some help.... persistence!