We’re a Bit Confused by the Vatican’s NFT Plans

The Vatican is trying to jump on the latest trend: a digital art gallery for NFTs in the metaverse.

The project has been mired in confusion. The press release didn't give much information, and even though a person tried to interview the priest behind it, it doesn't appear that a single journalist was able to speak with him.

Nobody at Sensorium, the Swiss metaverse company founded by Russian tycoon Mickhail Prokhorov, who launched the project in collaboration with Humanity 2.0, initially appeared to be certain whether the Vatican or Catholic.

Vice finally got an answer after some stonewalling.

A Sensorium spokesman told the publication that Humanity 2.0. is a Vatican-affiliated organization.

The company pulled back on their promise to interview Father Philip Larrey, the dean of philosophy at the Pope's University in Vatican City, because of a busy schedule.

The schedule for this release was ruined by some last-minute changes, a Sensorium spokesman told Vice in an email.

We were unable to get an interview with the person who offered to speak to Father Larrey prior to the project's announcement.

It doesn't appear that a single publication that covered the launch was able to speak with Father Larrey, instead falling back on quotes from a press release.

This strange sense of mystery surrounding the project is eyebrow-raising, given the fact that NFTs are one of the most scam-plagued areas of the internet.

Did someone higher up in the Catholic Church catch wind of the project and worried about being associated with scam artists and troll?

Cryptocurrencies are being raked over the coals almost weekly, with expensive NFTs being stolen by hackers left and right.

It's a questionable project to be embarking on, given the Vatican's extensive institutional memory and historical significance.

It doesn't inspire much confidence.

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