+Frank B. Subscriber² Posted July 17, 2013 Subscriber² Share Posted July 17, 2013 Follow the Pope on Twitter, spend less time in purgatory The Vatican has taken another step in its efforts to embrace social media by offering "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' (@Pontifex) Twitter account. Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reports that the church will reduce the time Catholics have to spend in purgatory if they follow official Vatican events on TV, radio, and through social media. One such event is the Catholic World Youth Day, commencing in Rio de Janeiro on July 22nd. The Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican tribunal responsible for issues relating to the forgiveness of sins, will award the privilege to the faithful that follow the event using different forms of media. Pope Francis' followers are not immediately granted an indulgence for tracking the event, with the penitentiary noting that it would hinge on the user having previously confessed and being "truly penitent and contrite." Indulgences are given out when a Catholic performs an action recommended by the church. They're meant to encourage Catholics to lead a pious life, devoting themselves to charity and generally treating others with a Christian spirit. "What really counts is that the tweets the Pope sends from Brazil or the photos of the Catholic World Youth Day that go up on Pinterest produce authentic spiritual fruit in the hearts of everyone," said Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the pontifical council for social communication. Alongside its papal Twitter account, the Vatican offers an online news website (and app), a Facebook page, and is currently planning to engage with users on Pinterest. Source: The Verge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compl3x Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 haha. Well, you used to have to pay to buy time out of purgatory, so at least this is a little kinder to the hip pocket. This stuff really is silly. How much time do you get off your purgatory sentence for following the pope? How about retweets? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theyarecomingforyou Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Shouldn't the source be The Onion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
compl3x Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I wonder how often writers at The Onion see a real news story and say "Dammit! Why didn't we come up with that!". :laugh: LaP 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmaslow Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 This is appalling. I am embarrassed to tell anyone I am Catholic. Indulgences were originally initiated as a scheme to finance the building of St. Peter's. Purgatory is nonsense invented to support the idea of indulgences. Neither concept makes any sense. The Church would be better served to never mention this topic again. If the Church expects to maintain it's members it needs to respect them and recognize that churchgoers today are not the ignoramuses they were in the Middle Ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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