Pope Francis on Friday received tech giant Apple's chief executive officer Tim Cook in a private audience, the Vatican said.
In a message released earlier on Friday for the Roman Catholic Church’s World Day of Communications, Francis said the Internet, social networks and text messages were "a gift of God" if used wisely.
“Emails, text messages, social networks and chats can also be fully human forms of communication,” he said appearing to take a more conciliatory stand towards modern technology than in the past.
"Internet may be used to build a society which is healthy and open to sharing,” the message added.
On Thursday, Apple said it would open an App development centre in the southern Italian city of Naples, creating 600 jobs. The announcement drew praise from Italy's prime minister Matteo Renzo and the Campania region's governor Vicenzo De Luca.
Cook is in Italy to present Apple's Naples centre which will give students practical skills and training in developing applications for operating system for mobile devices.
