Pope John Paul II officially embraced the internet today, saying the Church was determined to delve into "this wondrous instrument" with evangelizing zeal "armed with the Gospel of Christ".
The 81-year-old pontiff's unprecedented welcome for the internet, and his commitment to launching the Church into it as never before, came in a message released by the Vatican for World Communications Day on May 12.
"How can we ensure that this wondrous instrument first conceived in the context of military operations can now serve the cause of peace," the pontiff asked.
"Can it favour the cause of dialogue, participation, solidarity and reconciliation without which peace cannot flourish? The Church believes it can, and to ensure that this is what will happen she is determined to enter this new forum, armed with the gospel of Christ, the Prince of Peace."
While the internet held out the promise of "great positive breakthroughs", John Paul II said "there is also the possibility that it will in fact aggravate existing inequalities as the information and communications gap widens".
The Church's challenge was to ensure the information revolution would work in favour of the globalisation of human development and solidarity.
The Renaissance and the invention of printing, the Industrial Revolution and the birth of the modern world were each threshold moments, the pope said.
"Now, with the communications and information revolution in full swing, the Church stands unmistakably at another decisive gateway.
"The fact that through the internet people multiply their contacts in ways hitherto unthinkable opens up wonderful possibilities for spreading the Gospel," said the pontiff.
"On this World Communications Day, I dare to summon the whole Church bravely to cross this new threshold, to put out into the deep of the Net," he said.