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His Holiness Comes To Twitter: Pope Benedict Is '@Pontifex'

Pope Benedict XVI. He'll be spreading the word on Twitter.
Andreas Solaro

Starting Dec. 12, the Vatican says, Pope Benedict XVI will be on Twitter to answer questions about faith.

His Holiness will be posting as @Pontifex.

"The handle is a good one. It means 'pope' and it also means 'bridge builder'," Greg Burke, senior media adviser to the Vatican, tells Reuters.

Can he say a lot in 140 characters or less?

Well, the Vatican does have each of the Ten Commandments coming in under that length here:

"1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.

"2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

"3. Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.

"4. Honor your father and your mother.

"5. You shall not kill.

"6. You shall not commit adultery.

"7. You shall not steal.

"8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

"9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

"10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods."

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.
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