In recent years, ‘shocking’ news from the Catholic Church has been terrible revelations about the actions of its members. On Monday morning, however, there was news that was just plain unexpected.
Speaking early in the morning before the “Concistory for the canonization of the martyrs of Otranto,” Pope Benedict XVI announced his intentions to resign from the papacy. Elected on April 19, 2005, the German will step down on February 28th. He will be the first pope to willingly give up power since Gregory XII in 1415, who resigned to end the Western Schism, a political disagreement which saw three different men claim they were the true pope.
A little more than a month ago NYU was back in the news, but not for the reasons one might expect. It all began with an anonymous post on December 21 to the popular Facebook page 
Michael Hwang wants to know if you have a few minutes to talk about Jesus. A member of Korean Campus Crusaders for Christ, NYU’s largest evangelical Christian group, Michael meanders through Washington Square Park twice a week, speaking with strangers about the path to God. Or, at least, he speaks with those who will listen.
The notion that old people know their way around the Internet has seemed increasingly plausible since our parents started friending us on Facebook. Still, it’s a little patronizing when an 83-year-old starts making declarations about how us “young people” should conduct ourselves when “entering cyberspace” — especially when he uses those terms. Then again, “he” is the pope.
