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- The next time you have trouble surfing
the Net, spiritual help could be at hand.
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- In answer to the prayers of many Net
users who have just crashed, the Vatican is considering giving the Internet
its own patron saint.
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- The choice of religious saviour is thought
to be St Isidore of Seville, who died 1,400 years ago.
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- The Spanish saint is the preferred choice
for the Net by many users. He is credited with creating the world's first
database - a 20-volume encyclopaedia.
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- St Isidore was a prolific writer and
his works include a history of the world. He introduced the works of Aristotle
to Spain and was considered to be one of the most learned men of his day.
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- For those about to crash....
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- Spokesman for the Catholic Media Office
Tom Hallwood said: "There are patron saints of many things, so why
not let the Internet have one?
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- "It is a good idea and might be
able to help us all when we are about to crash.
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- "There has been no official statement
from Rome but this has been an idea floating around for a while, so why
not?"
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- The Vatican and the Roman Catholic church
are heavily involved with the Internet.
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- The Pope broadcasts live speeches on
the Web and Vatican Radio can be heard online.
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- It also uses three servers to cope with
the heavy demand made on its websites, appropriately called Raphael, Gabriel
and Michael.
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- The move to appoint a saint for the Internet
has been attributed to pressure from Catholic users around the world, predominantly
Spain.
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