Social Networking Site Established for World Youth Day

The site brings the characteristics of online networking to the life and ministry of the Catholic Church, as well as offering the global faith-based community a chance to share their worlds via a one-stop location.

SYDNEY, Australia (Zenit) - Pilgrims attending World Youth Day this year will have a new way to connect and stay connected before and after the July event through the social networking site FaithTrip.net.

FaithTrip.net, whose concept is similar to Facebook and MySpace, was launched Monday in response to a recommendation from Australia's episcopal conference to use new technologies to better serve the faithful. It has been developed by Church Resources, a purchasing organization for Church and nonprofit groups.

The site brings the characteristics of online networking to the life and ministry of the Catholic Church, as well as offering the global faith-based community a chance to share their worlds via a one-stop location.

It offers personalized blogs, links, community forums, unique videos, music, events, wikis, thoughts, news and more, all with a faithful flavor. FaithTrip can also act as an educational instrument for faith-based academic institutions.

A FaithTrip site manager and professional youth leader, Joseph Davies, 20, told me: "There is a distinctly renewed interest in religion, faith and spirituality among young people in Western Society today.

"FaithTrip will finally give us a clear reference and avenue to develop our concept of faith and values through dialoguing opportunities."

Bishop Peter Ingham, chair of the Media Advisory Commission of Australia's episcopal conference, is enthusiastic about the initiative and noted the boundless potential for such a network.

"It's a great long-term online communications strategy to service the communication needs of the enormous Church community," he said. "It's also vital that the youth in search of meaning can be met and can meet us via the tools they are comfortable with."

Although FaithTrip hasn't been built around any particular event, single community or charism, developers and youth leaders hope the site may help to link World Youth Day pilgrims before, during and after the event via forums and photo galleries of their friends and communities.

Also, they hope the site will do the same for other events, such as the Eucharistic Congress in Canada, and for the Church community in general.

The launch was timed to mark the feast of the Annunciation and Catholic Schools Week using the FaithTrip patron -- a comic version of the Archangel Gabriel.

This character, based on the biblical messenger of God, has already been busy announcing the FaithTrip site on YouTube and Facebook.

In just a few days since launching, FaithTrip Software Manager, Michael Neylan, says the site has attracted more new members and communities than anticipated for that amount of time.

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Neylan, who has led a variety of test groups in the development of this software platform, encourages those new to the site to "enjoy what's on offer now, but to expect a lot more enhancements to come as we aim to bring you to the Church and the universal Church to you."