Newsletter
Pope Francis may not have a computer, nor internet access, but he has proclaimed that the virtual network we use to communicate with is a gift from God. Considered as God’s representative, Pope Francis is set to have a meeting with former Google executive, now Alphabet executive, Eric Schmidt. According to numerous reports via tweets and a Vatican source, it has been reported that Pope Francis will meet with the Silicon Valley executive for about 15 minutes. On this special occasion Schmidt will not be alone, he will also be accompanied by Jared Cohen who is the head of Google Ideas. Google of course, denied to comment on the meeting but reports suspect that the meeting will be held at the Vatican in Rome.
It’s rather rare to see such a powerful religious figure meet with an American executive. Not to mention that Schmidt is part of a company that leads the tech world by web search and technology. Pope Francis has spoke about modern technology and the internet before saying that the internet offers people immense possibilities that include encounter and solidarity. Pope Francis sees technology as something good and has even stressed the importance of social media. According to the Pope, media helps bring people closer together in what he called the unity of the human family. The unity that Pope Francis speaks of will in return, inspire solidarity which can establish a dignified life.
As of right now it’s unclear as to what Schmidt and the Pope will cover during their short 15-minute meeting at the Vatican. It could be possible that the two will go over the huge gap that divides the wealthy and poor. The Pope spoke on the subject saying that people who have less of an access to social media could be left behind. That would be a big deal especially with the ever changing landscape of the tech world. Whatever it is that Schmidt and the Pope will talk about will probably be interesting since they share two common interests which involve environmentalism and why sustainability is important. Whenever the meeting is held, hopefully there will be detail of their highly anticipated discussion.