Un gesuita sul soglio di Pietro. La Chiesa di Bergoglio e l’orizzonte dei social media: il caso di Vatican News

A Jesuit on the Throne of Peter. The Church of Bergoglio and the Social Media Horizon: the Case of Vatican News · The article represents the first step of an ongoing research on the relation- ship between the Church of pope Bergoglio and the new media, with specific reference to the network and social media. The interest in this object stems from the observation of the traditional and deep-rooted familiarity of the Jesuits, the order to which Bergoglio belongs, with the means of communication and with their use as an evangelizing function. The question we ask in this ar- ticle could be summarized as follows: is the bergoglian project of reform of the Catholic Church supported by an equally radical reflection and practice regarding a different use of the media? The answer given is naturally partial. In fact, we deal here exclusively with official documents (speeches, encyclicals, homilies etc.), which obviously express an institutional position, so to speak. Further and future analyzes should be dedicated to the social world in relation to Francis’ project, to their ability to create consensus or dissent towards such an essential transformation idea of the Church of Peter.