Andrew Medichini
Pope Benedict XVI might warn people that technology can't replace God, but it seems technology can help God out a bit. Benedict will become the first pope to take part in a televised question-and-answer session, filming an 80-minute Good Friday broadcast to air on Italian television. It won't be an open forum, however. The pre-recorded broadcast will show Benedict answering a small number of pre-selected questions about Jesus and Christian views on world events. The show will air on Italy's publicly owned RAI channel at 2:10 p.m. local time so that it can be on TV at 3 p.m., the time that Jesus is traditionally thought to have died on the cross. RAI has been soliciting questions from a multinational and multifaith audience, including one from a Muslim woman in Ivory Coast asking about Jesus' role in teaching peace, and one from a group of Christian students in Baghdad.