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Pope Benedict XVI has urged priests to 'proclaim the Gospel' through online media, encouraging the use of videos and blogs to open up 'new vistas for dialogue and evangelisation'.

Ahead of the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Communications, the Pope told priests that they must respond to the challenge of 'today's cultural shifts' if they wanted to reach young people.

He advised priests to familiarise themselves with online tools early on in their careers to enable them to be active online rather than merely visible.

But he warned against overuse, reminding his colleagues to remain focused on religion, saying: 'Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart.

'This will not only enliven pastoral outreach, but will also give a 'soul' to the fabric of communications that makes up the Web.'

The Pope launched the Pope2you portal last year, offering applications for both Facebook and iPhones which allow followers to listen to his words, view pictures and receive congratulatory messages through virtual postcards, a Vatican YouTube news channel and a website in eight languages.

However, he also issued a warning about the rise of social media. 'It would be sad if our desire to sustain and develop online friendships were to be at the cost of our availability to engage with our families, our neighbours and those we meet in the daily reality of our places of work, education and recreation,' he said. 

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