A Minecraft Vatican server is currently being tested as a place where gamers can get together and enjoy an environment free of the "toxicity" that they might see elsewhere.
Jesuit Priest Father Robert R. Ballecer, SJ is not your ordinary priest. Aside from having a healthy understanding of religious texts, he's also well-versed in modern technology. He's now leveraging his two passions into a single project: a Minecraft Vatican server.
"I wanted to offer one in particular that could be less toxic," Father Ballecer says as reported by Rome Reports. "You can invite people who want to be creative, who don't want to be toxic, and you create an environment in which people can express themselves and build up a relationship. And the relationship thing is the most important part. That's ultimately what I want to do with the server. It's not about the technology. It's not even really about the gaming, it's about getting people together, who can then maybe move those relationships to the real world.”
The Future of the Minecraft Vatican Server
The creation of this intriguing Minecraft server was all born from a simple tweet put out by the padre in late August 2019.
Ok... I want to spin up a few servers in the Vatican for gamers who want a little less "toxic" and a bit more community.
— Fr. Robert R. Ballecer, SJ (@padresj) August 31, 2019
What should be my first server?
Since then, he's been hard at work refining the server and tweaking it to get things just right. Most recently, attention from the press has found the server under terrible load, requiring that he migrate it to a more powerful virtual machine.
So, will Father Ballecer be able to create the non-toxic environment he dreams of? It's certainly possible with the right mods and right mindset, and he seems to have both in spades. You can attempt to connect to the server at minecraft.digitaljesuit.com, although good luck getting into it at any sensible hour of the day.
What do you think of the Minecraft Vatican server? Do you think Father Ballecer's project will be successful? Let us know in the comments below!
