MANILA, December 12, 2012—After Pope Benedict XVI posted his first tweet, his Filipino Twitter followers asked for his prayers for the non-passage of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) bill that is being railroaded in Congress.
Filipino pro-lifers, most of whom have made their presence felt at the House of Representatives in Quezon City, have asked the Holy Father to support them in their battle against the RH bill, which seeks to promote contraception and abortion.
“The Prolife Dad” (@prolifedad) called on the Pope, through his Twitter account @Pontifex, to “please remember in a special way the Philippines! #NoToRHBill.”
Whilssy Candelaria (@whilssy) tweeted “@Pontifex #pray for the #Philippines Pope as we face this Spiritual battle against #RH bill.”
Trish Castro (@teachertwish) also called on “Oh sweet Vicar of Christ! Please pray for the Philippines that the Reproductive Health Bill not be passed! #notorhbill.”
At about 6:30 p.m. in Manila, the Supreme Pontiff has posted his first ever message to his online flock.
“Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart,” the Pope tweeted.
The message, which was also posted in eight other languages, was met with greetings from @Pontifex’s some 665,000 followers all over the globe, including Filipinos.
Xavier Padilla (@xavyniceday) tweeted, “@Pontifex we love you! 
Mabuhay ka!” while Sky Ortigas (@SkyOrtigas) exclaimed, “Pope Benedict XVI @Pontifex has been sending tweets! Love it! so cool!”
According to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Pope will personally post his first tweet and Vatican aides will write his later tweets for him but he will still approve them before posting.
Netizens who want to ask the Pope questions on faith and morals can use the #askpontifex hashtag. (KB/YouthPinoy)
