Boston, Mass., Sep 22, 2006 / 12:00 am (CNA).- In his continuing efforts to reach the public and foster a culture of transparency in the Archdiocese of Boston, Cardinal Sean O'Malley has started his own weblog, or “blog” site.  The Franciscan-turned-cardinal is thought to be the first cardinal to use such a forum.  O’Malley will be writing in the online diary during his 10-day trip to Rome, which began yesterday.

“I am...looking forward to a new opportunity to communicate directly with Catholics of the archdiocese through my own blog,” the cardinal said in a statement prior to his departure, the Boston Globe reported.

Cardinal O'Malley is going to Rome primarily for a ceremony Oct. 1, during which he will formally take possession of his titular church, Santa Maria della Vittoria. Tomorrow, the cardinal will preside at a mass in San Giovanni Rotondo, in southeastern Italy, honoring St. Pio of Pietralcina, who, like Cardinal O'Malley, was a Capuchin Franciscan friar.

A spokesman for the cardinal said the archdiocese has not decided whether to allow readers to comment or interact with the cardinal through his blog.

The idea for the blog “came out of conversations about his desire to find other modes of communication, especially using technology,” archdiocesan spokesman Kevin Shea told the Boston Globe.

Following his trip to Rome the cardinal-archbishop will consider making the blog permanent, depending on how the experiment goes, the Globe said.

The cardinal’s first entry is already up.  See his blog at www.cardinalseansblog.org.

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