In his weekly address at St. Peter's Square on Sunday, the 81-year-old Pontiff said: "I've decided, therefore, to propose a big new theme for this year: 'The Internet--a new forum for proclaiming the Gospel.'"

The leader of the world's Roman Catholics didn't say how much he practices what he preaches--for instance, whether he surfs the World Wide Web. He doesn't have his own e-mail address.

But the Vatican does have an active Web site, the pope sent his first message over the Internet last year, and there's talk that he is searching for a patron saint for Internet users.

"Recent progress in communications and information have presented the church with unheard-of possibilities for evangelism," he said.

"We shouldn't be afraid to put to sea in the vast ocean of information," he went on. "If we do so, the good news can reach the hearts of the men and women of the new millennium."

In the past, the pope has said the Web should be regulated to stop depravity in cyberspace. Sunday, he gave it his unwavering blessing.

"We have to become part of this modern and ever more finely woven web of communication with realism and confidence, convinced that, if it is used competently and with due responsibility, it can offer a sound opportunity for the dissemination of the word of the Lord."

Taken together, the pope's latest thoughts were a big step forward from January, when in his last comments on the Internet he emphasized its potential for harm, going so far as to say it could demean human dignity.

"Despite its enormous potential for good, some of the degrading and damaging ways the Internet can be used are already obvious to all," he said at the time.

Those comments raised the hackles of Internet die-hards who are generally against any form of censorship and any view that cyberspace should in any way be policed for content.

The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally adapted to discoveries through the ages, from the Renaissance to the invention of printing presses and the Industrial Revolution.

The Vatican has extensive media interests, with its own publishing house, a radio station, missionary news agency, television channel and newspaper.

Story Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.

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