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While the idea of cardinals posting on social media has been a rising trend within the Catholic Church over the years, Entrala said the type of content has shifted slightly since Francis' death.

\"If you watched what [cardinals] were doing one month ago, it was more doctrinal, more spiritual and encouraging to their people, but now they are talking about the papacy and the process that they are going through now,\" Entrala said. \"I think their content is much more oriented to explaining everything surrounding the papacy and the conclave.\"

The openness to share bits of information while in Rome can allow for audiences to feel a stronger connection and sense of relatability to these cardinals, Entrala said.

\"People don't want to see the priests and cardinals or bishops as very distant people who talk to you from high up. [Cardinals] know that that doesn't work anymore,\" Entrala said.

Regardless of the type of content, Entrala said he \"cannot see any of them posting for the fact that they want to be elected\" as pope.

\"PHOTO:
Bernat Armangue/AP
PHOTO: Cardinal Christoph Schonborn poses for selfie photos with people outside St. Mary Major Basilica in Rome, Sunday, April 27, 2025.
>

Still, the willingness cardinals feel to share online could potentially lead to major consequences, according to Kurt Martens, professor at the Catholic University of America and a canon law expert.

\"When cardinals post on social media, they have to be extremely careful that nothing that's been said [in private meetings] gets out,\" Martens told ABC News. \"If I were a cardinal, I wouldn't say anything to the media right now other than 'we are all praying very hard' and 'pray for us.'\"

Martens said if a cardinal shares any information from their general congregation meetings prior to the conclave -- or from the conclave itself -- they could be subject to sanctions. Overall, anyone who \"directly or indirectly violates the secrecy incurs an excommunication,\" which is the highest sanction one could have in the church, Martens said.

Another potential challenge the cardinals face when posting on social media is a slew of negative comments, according to Walter Scheirer, professor of engineering who researches internet culture at the University of Notre Dame. These comments, which Scheirer describes as a \"continual mockery of whoever is posting,\" typically relate to political partisanship, critiques about the church and other \"long-standing problems,\" including the church's sex abuse crisis.

Scheirer told ABC News the problem is that the cardinals do not respond to those comments, eliminating the back-and-forth that he says is the \"point of social media.\"

\"What you see, especially with a high-profile account of a cardinal, is they don't respond back. You see a string of negative comments, but the public figure never really engages with that. I think that's a little bit disappointing,\" Scheirer said.

Despite the potential downsides, social media has given users more access to the world of the Catholic Church and changed its traditional patterns of hierarchy, according to Jana Bennett, religious studies professor at the University of Dayton.

\"Colombian
Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images
Colombian cardinal Jorge Enrique Jimenez Carvajal speaks to the press as he arrives for the seventh congregation meeting at the Vatican, on April 30, 2025.
>

These platforms have widened the net of possibilities for people to gain religious insight from, instead of only relying on their local parish, Bennett said.

\"You can sort of choose your own bishop, choose the people that you see as authoritative, where before, there wasn't that choice,\" Bennett said.

Along with the cardinals, the last two popes, Benedict and Francis, have also embraced social media, with Benedict introducing the papal Twitter account, @Pontifex, back in 2012, Entrala said.

Entrala said Francis was also \"extremely active\" on the account during his papacy and expects the next pontiff to do the same, and perhaps even increase their digital media presence through livestreaming.

\"The idea of meeting the pope and having a selfie with him was unimaginable before Pope Francis,\" Entrala said. \"I think the next pope will be a man of his time. Even if he is not savvy in terms of using social media, he will accept it, no problem.\"

The conclave to elect the Catholic Church's 267th leader will begin on May 7, according to the Vatican.

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