At this year’s World Youth Day in Australia, the Pope will be texting ‘inspirational messages’ to young Catholics. Well, probably not the big cheese himself, but certainly some church lackeys (the image of Benedict XVI brandishing a pimped-out Samsung is fairly bizarre). I have my issues with the Pope anyway – not with Catholicism as a whole – mainly to do with the fact that he looks like the Demon Headmaster.
What grates on me most about this story, however, is the ‘getting down with the kids’ aspect. There will also be online ‘prayer walls’ (what a hoot) and a Catholic social networking site (Faithbook? Could be confusing for the lispers.)
As an atheist, I’m clearly not rushing to Mass each Sunday – which instead, of course, is devoted to the ancient rite of T4 and bacon sandwiches – but I do have a sort of awestruck respect for the Catholics. I once went to a Catholic funeral, and was really moved by the grandeur and solemnity of it all: the stained glass, the resounding organ, the dramatic iconography, the absolute faith in the hereafter.
My pet hate, incidentally, is the happy-clappy, JC-wants-to-be-your-main-man, grab-a-tambourine-and-we’ll-sing-about-love-while-secretly-condemning-everyone Christians. A cringeworthy display largely avoided by the Catholics.
Christianity seems increasingly desperate to ‘recruit’ a younger crowd, and if the techno-culture we live in is the route they need to take, it seems that even the Vatican will get online. There is something vaguely creepy about this need to infuse religion into adolescent life; generally speaking most people who were brought up with some form of religion or faith have become a little agnostic (dare I say open-minded) in adolescence, and then will either return to their faith or abandon it in adulthood.
Is there really any need for this ‘get them while they’re young’ initiative? Apparently the Pope needs to ‘make contact’ with his Australian followers. Apart from this sounding like he’s an extra-terrestrial (check the eyes)few churches, make a few sermons, compliment their kangaroo burgers or whatever diplomatic duties Popes usually have?
My only real fondness for the Catholics is that they do religion properly: fire and brimstone, blood of Christ, restricted lifestyle and unrestricted confession time. If the Pope creates a MySpace, then I’m pretty sure that centuries of solemn, ancient faith will become a bit of a joke.
My advice to the Catholic Church? Stay out of cyberspace and get back to what you’re good at: vowing not to do anything and then confessing to it with the absolute certainty of forgiveness. With a belief system like that, who needs inspirational texts?
