The blogosphere is as old as the internet. There are well over 100 million blogs, according to a 2008 Technorati estimate. Once the domain of computer geeks and tech nerds, the blogosphere is now respectably populated by soccer moms, fashion conscious teen-agers, political dissenters, pyjama-clad college students and the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston among others. Most mainstream newspapers use blogs now, and I imagine most people in this room have a blog or at least a Twitter account. As more and more people have flocked to the internet to discuss topics dear to their hearts, a lively, loud and argumentative Catholic blogosphere, which has challenged bishops, magnified Church controversies, helped attract new faithful and put off others in turn, has flourished.