'Jesus was the first tweeter'

26 September 2013 - 08:49 By Sapa-AFP
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Jesus Christ was the world's first tweeter because his pronouncements were "brief and full of meaning", Vatican cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi said yesterday.

Christ "used tweets before everyone else, with elementary phrases made up of fewer than 45 characters, such as 'Love one another'," said Ravasi, the Vatican' equivalent of a culture minister.

The cardinal emphasised the importance of clergy making full use of modern-day computer technology.

"If a cleric, a pastor, is not interested in communication, he is defying his duty," he said.

Pope Francis has more than 3million followers on Twitter in English alone.

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