Mar 5, 2009 12:57 pm US/Eastern
Catholic Church: 'Thou Shalt Not Text' For Lent
Call It 'Catholic Unplugged' - Bishops Urge Faithful To Leave Digital Age For A Moment
Includes Twittering, iPods, Facebook, Blackberries, Text Messaging
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Roman Catholic bishops are urging the faithful to give up technology such as iPods and blackberries. No more texting and Twittering, surfing the Web or posting on Facebook until Easter. (File)
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In the weeks leading up to Easter, Roman Catholics are asked to give up something during the period known as Lent.
Call it 'Catholic Unplugged.' Catholics around the world are leaving the digital age to live in more biblical times, at least for a few weeks.
Thou shall not Twitter during Lent. Some Roman Catholic bishops are urging the faithful to give up technology such as iPods and blackberries. No more texting and twittering, surfing the Web or posting on Facebook until Easter.
"Lent is a time to step back and relax, but if you're texting or receiving text, there's no way to pull back and retreat and take a good look at life," Father Pete Colapietro, of Holy Cross Church, said.
Several New Yorkers have said that it would be a near impossibility to give up their Blackberries for even a few days, let alone a few weeks.
"I probably couldn't [give up my Blackberry], but I [definitely] wouldn't," Christina Brice said. "It's called an addiction. It's like vodka."
"Basically, my life is entwined in this thing," Frederick Fields says. "I'd cheat. I can't live without it."
The idea started in Italy where priests in two parishes are encouraging Catholics to stop text messaging on Friday during Lent, traditionally a time set aside for fasting, prayer and abstinence.
"It's a small way to remember the importance of concrete and not virtual relationships," a diocese in Modena, Italy said.
That diocese wants the "no SMS day" as a way to seek attention to years of conflict in the Congo.
But then is the Pope off the hook? In January, The Vatican launched its own YouTube channel, with Pope Benedict the XVI welcoming viewers to this "great family that knows no borders."
On Facebook, there are dozens of groups created on the site itself urging people to give up their hi-tech fix for Lent. But some members say they just can't do it. While others say what one gives up for Lent is a personal matter.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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