Pope Francis — who once declared the Internet is a "gift from God" — confessed he's a technological "dinosaur" during a Google Hangout with special-needs kids on Thursday. One of the youngsters asked the pontiff if he likes to take pictures and upload them to a computer.
"Do you want me to tell you the truth?" Francis joked. according to the subtitles of the chat, which was conducted in Spanish.
""I am old-fashioned when it comes to computers. I'm a dinosaur. I don't know how to work a computer. What a pity, huh?"
A 14-year-old from Argentina spoke about the tablet he uses and the plain-spoken pope asked, "Is it difficult...I don't have one."
The online dialogue was hosted by Scholas Occurrentes, an educational group launched by the pope that aims to build bridges through technology. The participants were students with disabilities from around the world.
The pope, has 5.4 million Twitter followers at his @pontifex account, has delivered a tempered message about technology in the past.
A year ago, he praised the Internet but expressed concern about the speed and impersonal nature of social media. In August, he warned altar servers not to spent too much time "chatting on the Internet or with smartphones, watching TV soap operas, and (using) the products of technological progress, which should simplify and improve the quality of life, but distract attention away from what is really important."
The Google hangout can be viewed at 10 a.m. ET at this Google link or on YouTube.
