VATICAN CITY (WBZ NewsRadio) — Now that Mardi Gras celebrations have settled, Pope Francis has a suggestion for what Catholics can give up this Lenten season—internet bullying.
On Wednesday, his Holiness said for the next 40 days leading to Easter, people should consider giving up "useless words, gossip, rumors" and "tittle tattle."
“We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet,” he said in an address in St. Peter's Square Wednesday, Reuters reports. “Today, people insult each other as if they were saying ‘Good Day.’”
In other words, the Pope is asking that people stop trolling so much.
According to the Catholic News Agency, Pope Francis also asked his audience to reflect on elements of their faith more, and to spend less time engaged with technology.
"Lent is the right time to make room for the Word of God. It is the time to turn off the television and open the Bible. It is the time to disconnect from your cell phone and connect to the Gospel,” the pope said in Vatican City, according to CNA. "It is the absence of words to make room for another Word, the Word of God."
In Catholicism, Lent is a time of fasting to commemorate Jesus' 40 days in the desert. CNA reported Pope Francis pointed to an image of the desert and "said it recalls what is essential, and how often in life people become surrounded by many useless things."
This year, Easter falls on Sunday April 12.
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