After spending some (mostly wasted) time looking at reasons why some Christians should not be allowed to build statues or monuments that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Vatican’s web site ( \www.vatican.va) proves very interesting to both see and read. It’s available in six different languages, not one of which is Latin.

The site teems with interesting content — as if you were taking a tour through the halls of the Vatican — and with what seems to be most of the last decade’s worth of Papal teaching and declarations. You’ll find no shortage or reading material here!

Want to read the biographies, speeches, letters, or homilies of any of the last ten popes? You can. The first section of the site is called “The Holy Father” and allows you to even read about Pope John Paul I, who died about a month after becoming Pope.

There are five other divisions to the site’s structure (after the Holy See): The Roman Curia, News Services, Vatican City State, Liturgical Year, and Liturgical Celebrations. A search feature (outsourced to a company called Mondosoft) also allows you to search by language, document title, or age (one week, one month, or older). You can also look at pages by categories and documents by their authors. It’s all been thought out rather well, except that when you choose your language (I chose English, in case you were wondering), you are directed to a page consisting of concentric circles, some of which you have to mouse over in order to figure out what they are for. If you click on a link to view another page, you see a more typically structured web page, with menus on the top and side. However, there is no way to return to the main navigation page — click on the logo in the top-left corner of the page and you’ll be directed back to the home page to re-select your language again.

The main navigation page is fascinating to examine; the church — which looks much like a watermark — is in the center, surrounded by a circle of six icons that lead you to most of the site’s content. The current Pope, Benedict XVI, is sort of attached to this circle, but his picture is the same size of the central church image and the text of his name extends from him, across the circle, to the central church. Outside of the first circle is another circle of links (images of text) that lead you to very specific content: site map, Peter’s Pence, W.Y.D. (World Youth Day), etc. Outside of that circle is a quarter of the last circle, entitled “Focus”. These links appear to be what, lately, is highlighted for the benefit and ease of navigation of the site’s visitors. Just above the “Focus” is a search text box (the only non-image object on the page). Click on the mosaics picture in the bottom-left corner to visit the “Redemptoris Mater” site — a multimedia tour of the chapel that acts as the Pope’s own spiritual retreat.

When you check out a section of the site, such as the Vatican City State, links appear on the left-hand side of the page that allow you to see topics included under that section heading. Some of those links, however, are not enabled, as apparently some content is missing or not yet included. It’s a bit frustrating to mouse over text such as “Visit” and to be unable to click. I, for one, would love to visit the Vatican (even though I’m not Roman Catholic).

It’s not a perfect site, but still is worth an extended visit. I wonder what it would be like to have the job title “Papal Web Master”.