By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
Pope Benedict XVI is set to make history on Good Friday when he takes part in a question and answer session on Italian TV, a show that is expected to be rebroadcast by television stations around the world.
The Daily Mail is reporting that the Pope will appear on the show, In His Image, on Rai TV, which regularly attracts seven million viewers. The show will be aired at 2:10 p.m. in Italy (1:10 p.m. GMT) on Good Friday, which is the time recognized by the Church as the moment Christ died on the cross.
The topic of the show will be Jesus Christ, and the Pope will respond to three questions that have been picked by those sent in by viewers. A team from Vatican television will pre-record the show either in the Pope’s study or personal chapel the day before the broadcast.
The program, which is hosted by Rosario Carello, 37, is planning to open a special section on its website for people who want to submit questions for the Holy Father.
“We will then pick three and put them to the Pope and his answers will be recorded and then broadcast on the Good Friday program,” Carello told the Daily Mail.
Calling the project “exciting,” he says the station was delighted when they pitched the idea to the pope and received a positive response.
“The Pope was delighted with the idea and thought it was a good opportunity to get across just who exactly the figure of Jesus Christ is,” Carello said. “The show lasts 80 minutes but I’m not sure yet how much will be taken up with the Pope’s segment.”
He added: “The fact that it is being broadcast on Good Friday is also highly significant and will give people a chance to reflect on the importance of the day and remember the death of Christ.”
A Vatican spokesman has confirmed the program and said further details will be released in the weeks to come. He also confirmed that this will be the first time a Pontiff takes part in a TV event such as this where he answers questions from the faithful.
Pope John Paul II came closest when he phoned into a popular Italian current affairs show in October 1998, which ended with the host weeping with emotion. The first pope to appear on film was Leo XII in 1896. Television cameras were first allowed into the Vatican in 1961 to film a day in the life of Pope John XXIII.
The idea of using the media to spread the Gospel is one that Pope Benedict has often endorsed. He currently has his own website and You Tube site and has repeatedly called on clergy and Catholics to use all methods of the media to spread the Bible’s teachings.
“People of the Church, especially lay Christians, are called to promote the Gospel values in an even greater outreach through the press, radio, television and internet,” he has said.
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