Who’s your Papa?

The notice was very convincing when I received it in my inbox last Saturday night.

Benedict XVl (@Radio_Vatican) is now following you on Twitter!.

Yes, I know he didn't mean the Pope. But at least it was Radio Vatican, and that's not too shabby. I phoned the AAA hotline straight away, to get brochures for Rome. Sal would love to go shopping there, especially if Prada has an outlet store. I was just about to call Mama to tell her the news, when I read the fine print on the home page of the account.

Radio_Vatican Benedict XVl
Getting the message to the farthest places on this earth. (Not an official site of the Vatican.)
Rome

That's when I got pissed.

Yes, this person did make it clear that they were "not an official site of the Vatican." But even though they were using Twitter for links to messages of the Holy Father, there was nothing in any of the messages that indicated the promotion, on their own initiative, of the broadcasting voice of the Holy See. It was therefore a cheap, obvious attempt to mislead, wrapped in the mantle of piety. Not only that, but we have learned this evening that the account of "Benedict XVI" has been suspended.

And so, this message goes out to "Benedict XVI" and "Radio Vatican." You would have been blocked had you still been active, not because you were sending spam or obscene messages -- then again, we didn't check the links -- and not only because people like you give good, pious Catholics a bad name, but because ...

You're an idiot. And proud of it.