Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Stop wasting your life on smartphones, web - Pope Francis

 

Published time: August 06, 2014 03:34
Edited time: August 06, 2014 14:31

 Pope Francis meets with German altar servers during an open-air meeting in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican on August 5, 2014. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)
Pope Francis meets with German altar servers during an open-air meeting in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican on August 5, 2014. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)
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“Maybe many young people waste too many hours on futile things,” the pope said in a short speech in Rome on Tuesday, as quoted by Reuters.

“Our life is made up of time, and time is a gift from God, so it is important that it be used in good and fruitful actions,”
he stressed.

According to Pope Francis, actions certainly not worthy of wasting one's time include “chatting on the internet or with smartphones, watching TV soap operas, and [using] the products of technological progress, which should simplify and improve the quality of life, but distract attention away from what is really important.”
The pope was addressing 50,000 German altar servers – young people who help the priest during religious services – who arrived to Rome on a pilgrimage.

Dozens of people could be seen filming the pope on their gadgets as he spoke.
Pope Francis waves as he arrives for an open-air meeting with German altar boys and girls in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican on August 5, 2014. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)
Pope Francis waves as he arrives for an open-air meeting with German altar boys and girls in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican on August 5, 2014. (AFP Photo / Alberto Pizzoli)

The 77-year-old head of the Catholic Church, who has Twitter accounts in several languages – including the English-language @Pontifex with 4.3 million followers – has had ambivalent thoughts on the internet, calling it a “gift from God,” but also cautioning that it should be used properly.

According to Pope Francis, the high-speed world of online social media needed calm, reflection, and tenderness if it was to be “a network not of wires but of people.”

Pope Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, has become extremely popular for his open-minded speeches, as well as for his noted humility and concern for the poor. In addition to speaking on an end to violence in the Middle East and eastern Ukraine, the Pope has blasted the Italian mafia and publicly apologized for the sexual abuse of children by Catholic clerics.

Recently, the Pope also shared ten tips for living a happy, peaceful and fulfilled life.

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