March 05, 2009

Gve up txt 4 lnt

Instead of spend their time quietly moving pedophile priests from one Parrish to another, or arranging meetings where men in dresses contemplate why women aren't evolved enough to do their job......the Vatican has decided to tackle an IMPORTANT topic.

Urging followers to give up text messaging for lent. Because, you know, THAT'S important.

I'm pretty sure that Jesus (not that he existed outside of literary fiction) would never stop furrowing his brow at the strange behavior done in his name.




Catholics are urged to give up texting for Lent

ROME (AP) — Roman Catholic bishops in Italy are urging the faithful to go on a high-tech fast for Lent, switching off modern appliances from cars to iPods and abstaining from surfing the Web or text messaging until Easter.

The suggestion goes far beyond no-meat Fridays, giving a modern twist to traditional forms of abstinence in the five-week period Christians set aside for fasting and prayer ahead of Easter.
And it shows the Church's increasing focus on technology's uses — with many of the Lenten appeals posted on various dioceses' Web sites.

Dioceses and Catholic groups in Modena, southern Bari and other cities have called for a ban on text messaging every Friday in Lent, which began last week with Ash Wednesday.

1 comment:

Justine said...

Hey, my other atheist friend sent me this, so I guess it's "a sign" I should respond. :)

It might be hard for non-Catholics to know when Bishops are speaking about Church doctrine (matters of faith and morals) and when they are just giving suggestions to help people grow spiritually. This suggestion about giving up texting is just a suggestion. It's not on the same level as fasting and abstinence on Good Friday. You can choose to take it or leave it.

And, it does seem to me that more and more we're only paying attention to the people on our phone lists. I wouldn't mind saying "hi" to the girl in line next to me at the grocery story, but if she's on the phone to someone else, I won't even make eye contact with her. In some ways technology can help us grow closer together, but in other ways it can push us apart.

I think that's all the Bishops want us to be aware of, and I don't think that it's necessarily a bad suggestion.