For Pope Benedict, gaining new followers has a whole new meaning. The leader of the world's approximately 1.2 billion Roman Catholics has logged onto Twitter and is ready to take advantage of the 21st century link to his followers. The papal handle has not yet been disclosed but is widely expected to be @BenedictusPXVI, his name and title in Latin. The 85-year-old pope, known to write longhand, is unfamiliar with computers, the "Today" show's "Digital Life" blog reported. He will not write tweets himself but will sign off before they are sent in his name, NBC News reported. The tweets will come from the contents of his weekly general audience, Sunday blessings, homilies on major church holidays, and reactions to major world events such as natural disasters. In a document issued last year, the pope gave a qualified blessing to social networking calling new media and social networking "a great opportunity." He tempered the pronouncement with a warning about the risks of depersonalization, alienation and self-indulgence.
