Vatican City, home to the Pope and seat of the Holy Roman Empire, has launched it’s very own YouTube channel. Many of those in the media say this is as good as an endorsement from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

You can read all the press releases and view the videos here.

Google managing director of European sales and media solutions, Henrique de Castro, was in Vatican City for the announcement of the agreement between the search engine and the Holy See.

The Vatican channel is offered in the Italian, English, Spanish and German languages. In his welcome message, Pope Benedict XVI offered these words: “We must find new ways to spread voices and images of hope through the ever-evolving communications system that surrounds our planet.”

He also praised the benefits of social networking, but cautioned against taking it too far - this might lead to isolation. Like a guy who lives in his own self-governed city, drives around in a special car and is generally only seen from balconies could understand isolation. Pshaw.

This is by far not the first foray the Catholic Church has made into the online universe. The Church has had its own Web site for over a decade and even has its own online encyclopedia.