Pope Benedict XVI thanked journalists today for their coverage during the "historical" events of the papal transition. The pope noted that the media in the modern age has the capacity to reach "the whole of humanity".
It was the pontiff's first appearance in the modern Paul VI hall that hosts the weekly general audiences. The pope chuckled during a one-minute ovation from pilgrims as he entered.
"I hope to follow this dialogue with you and I share, as Pope John Paul II observed concerning the faith, the development of social communications," the pontiff told more than 1,000 members of the media and pilgrims.
Benedict noted that John Paul had been "a great artisan" of an "open and sincere" dialogue with the media that was started by the Second Vatican Council in the mid-1960s.
"Thanks to all of you, this historically important ecclesial events have had worldwide coverage. I know how hard you have worked, far away from your homes and families for long hours and in sometimes difficult conditions. "I am aware of this dedication with which you have accomplished this demanding task," he said.
The session, which lasted about 15 minutes, ended without the pope taking any questions. "You could say that thanks to your work for so many weeks, the attention of the whole world has been fixed on the basilica, on St Peter's Square, and on the Apostolic Palace, inside of which my predecessor, the unforgettable John Paul II, serenely ended his earthly existence," the pope said.
The 78-year-old Benedict is quickly setting the personal tone of his reign - and it's not the distant and strident papacy that many feared because of his long role as the church's watchdog of theology.
An open-air Mass in St Peter's Square tomorrow is expected to draw half a million faithful and hundreds of dignitaries to Rome.
The decision for an outdoor Mass - rather than one in St Peter's Basilica - shows Benedict favours the populist touch of recent popes who have made the same choice.
PA