To reach out, O'Malley turns to blogging

Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley, who wears a friar's habit designed nearly 500 years ago and who eschews most material possessions, today is taking a giant leap into the 21st century: He is becoming a blogger.

Following the lead of numerous political, entertainment, and sports figures who are flirting with new communication media in an effort to reach the public, O'Malley is planning to file items at least once a day during a 10-day trip to Rome that begins today and will consider making the blog permanent, depending on how the experiment goes.

``I am . . . looking forward to a new opportunity to communicate directly with Catholics of the archdiocese through my own blog," O'Malley, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston, said in a statement yesterday. ``While this is a new venture for me and for the archdiocese, I am eager to take advantage of the latest technology and mode of communication to share with Catholics of the archdiocese my experiences as I return to Rome and, more importantly, to share with everyone a sense of what it is that Boston's archbishop does on business in Rome representing the people of the archdiocese."

O'Malley is traveling to Rome primarily for a ceremony associated with his new status as a cardinal: On Oct. 1, he will formally take possession of his titular church, Santa Maria della Vittoria in Rome. O'Malley will have nominal administrative and financial oversight of the church, which is famous as the home of a provocative Bernini statue and as the setting for a particularly gruesome scene in the Dan Brown novel, ``Angels and Demons."

O'Malley will also be presiding at a Mass on Sept. 23 in San Giovanni Rotondo, in southeastern Italy, honoring Padre Pio, an Italian saint who, like O'Malley, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar.

O'Malley's spokesman said the cardinal, who has a computer on his desk and who uses e-mail for regular communication, would write his own blog items, but that a staff member would post them and upload photographs. The spokesman said the archdiocese has not decided whether to allow readers to comment or interact with the cardinal through his blog.

Blogging, depending on the content of the items, is a remarkable development for the leader of an institution more often known for its secrecy.

O'Malley has repeatedly said he thinks the church should be more transparent, but he has had periods of more and less engagement with the news media. He has made it clear that he does not particularly enjoy dealing with journalists, but that he views the news media as one way of communicating with the public. He has also expressed a desire to increase the reach of media controlled by the church.

``The cardinal is excited about the idea, and hopefully it will be well-received," said archdiocesan spokesman Kevin Shea. ``This came out of conversations about his desire to find other modes of communication, especially using technology."

Blogging, which became popular around 2001, is a huge cultural phenomenon; according to a recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, about 12 million American adults maintain a blog, and about 57 million read blogs. But numerous public figures are now experimenting with blogging: politicians; celebrities, including Rosie O'Donnell; and even sports figures, such as Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Shea said his office is unaware of any other blogging cardinals.

A specialist on blogging said that the success of O'Malley's blog (www.cardinalseansblog.org) will depend on the tone struck by the cardinal in his entries.

``It's one thing to simply construct a website that takes the form of chronological diary entries, but if those entries are filled with the kinds of material that usually end up in press releases and official statements, then I don't think that it will have an impact different from what's already there," said Jonathan Zittrain, a professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford University and cofounder of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law school.

``The key to successful blogging is that . . . one feels like on the receiving end of a conversation, that you get what you would learn if you had a beer with a person, rather than what you would learn if they had a press conference," he said. ``But not all public figures can afford to do that, because almost anything they say will be seen as an official statement, and anything off the cuff that might be regretted or repudiated they could get in trouble for."

Michael Paulson can be reached by e-mail at mpaulson@globe.com.