Electronic communications reached new spiritual heights this week when it was reported that Pope John Paul II has sent his first email apology.
Due to health concerns, the 81-year-old pontiff is unable to travel, so instead he did it virtually.
From a laptop in the Vatican's Clementine Hall on Wednesday, the Pope "apologised unreservedly" by email to New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific islands for "shameful injustices done to indigenous peoples" in those countries.
It was the pontiff's first virtual apology. He will also be dedicating a message on the web on World Communications Day on 12 May.
With the Vatican running its very own website at www.vatican.va www.vatican.va, it serves as further evidence of the church's intent to use the web to spread the word.