I read this quote this morning on a Catholic blog which I follow. It’s from comments made by Pope Benedict on Monday:

"Moreover," the Holy Father added, "hopes for great novelties and improvements are concentrated on science and technology." Yet, "it is not science and technology that can give meaning to our lives and teach us to distinguish good from evil,” he said.

The quote is meaningful for me because I just witnessed a day when the technology media breathlessly followed every hint and detail regarding the release of a new iPhone.

I could have sworn that a star had led every tech reporter on the planet to the Moscone Center, where they paid homage to a small device that now provides faster internet access with that ever-popular Apple design aesthetic. Whee!!

Given the excitement, attention, and devotion given to the release of what is basically a new toy, Pope Benedict’s words could not have been better timed. In three years, this iPhone will be obsolete, and we’ll have three years more when few of society’s real problems have been solved.