Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

The Church Wants U 2 Give Up Txting 4 Lent

Benedict thinks technology is ruining young lives

By Kevin Spak, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 3, 2009 1:13 PM CST

(Newser) – If you’re still deciding what to give up for Lent, the Catholic Church has a suggestion: How about Facebook? A handful of Italian dioceses have begun a "stop texting" campaign, the Times reports, urging young people to give up text messaging, Facebook, video games, and other such newfangled activities until Easter. Pope Benedict recently warned that the young are substituting “virtual friendship” for human relationships.

But the campaign isn’t just about self denial. The Archbishop of Modena says renouncing text messaging will also help Africa, since 80% of the world’s coltan, a mineral crucial to mobile phones, laptops and game consoles, comes from war-torn Congo.

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

The pope is totally going to let these two have it. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Pope Benedict XVI looks on from his popemobile, as he is driven around St. Peter's Square during the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)

The pope wants you to stop that, young lady. (Shutterstock)

Are cellphones causing you to forsake human relationships? Because Pope Benedict is worried about you. (Shutterstock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Very few young people listen to Church leaders, and even fewer will stop sending SMS messages. Do you really think people will stop contacting each other because the bishop says so? - Bruno Dallapiccola, Professor of Genetics at Rome University

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Pope Greeted by Protesters Upon Arrival in Germany

Four-day visit is first state visit to his homeland

(NEWSER) - Pope Benedict XVI is back home for his first state visit to Germany. Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Christian Wulff, and Cabinet members met the pontiff upon his arrival at a Berlin airport today, the first of his four-day visit, as howitzers fired and fighter jets flew overhead. He is also expected to be met by large Catholic crowds, the AP reports, but a less-welcome sight will be the also-large crowds expected to protest. More»

Angry Vatican Excommunicates Chinese Bishop

Says Benedict alone has right to appoint bishops

(NEWSER) - The Vatican has excommunicated a newly ordained bishop in China's Catholic Church, reports Reuters, peeved that the Beijing church went ahead and ordained the Rev. Joseph Huang Bingzhang without papal approval. The Vatican maintains that Pope Benedict alone has the right to name bishops; Beijing sees that as foreign interference, notes the AP. The priest defied numerous requests from the Holy See to refuse the ordination, it said in a statement, adding that Benedict "deplores the manner in which the church in China is being treated." More»

Vatican Back in the Black

Church pulls in $14.3M, makes profit for first time in three years

(NEWSER) - Good news: The Vatican returned to the black last year, after three straight years in the red. The Catholic Church pulled in $14.3 million, it said in its annual financial report today, while the Vatican city state made $30.6 million, fueled largely by ticket sales at the Vatican Museums. The downside is that individual donations plummeted by 18%—almost $14.8 million—probably caused by the priest sex abuse scandal that re-erupted last year, notes the AP. More»

Vatican Sacks Bishop Who Wanted Women Priests

William Morris also argued church should consider ordaining married men

(NEWSER) - An Australian bishop claims the Roman Catholic church sacked him because he advocated the ordaining of women and married men. The Vatican confirmed today that Bishop William Morris had been "removed from pastoral care" by Pope Benedict XVI, and Morris claims the ouster was a result of a 2006 message in which he argued that the church should consider ordaining women and married men, in light of the current priest shortage. More»

John Paul Is No Saint

Remember that whole pedophilia scandal he ignored?

(NEWSER) - On this Easter, Maureen Dowd turns to another resurrection of sorts next Sunday: The beatification of Pope John Paul II, or "PR boost" that Pope Benedict hopes to get from the "swiftest ascension toward sainthood on record." And while there was much to love about the "skiing cardinal, mountain-climbing poet, kayaking philosopher, (and) singing author," the "indelible stain" of the sex abuse scandal that John Paul presided over makes next week's ceremony a charade. "How can you be a saint if you fail to protect innocent children?" Dowd wonders in the New York Times. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

The Church Wants U 2 Give Up Txting 4 Lent