Pope Francis insisted Catholics give up insulting people on social media for Lent, according to Reuters.
The Pope gave his speech for Lent in front of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40-day season preceding Easter, Reuters reported. During Lent, Roman Catholics choose an item, often desserts or other luxuries, to abstain from. Eastern Catholics often observe abstinence from meat and dairy. (RELATED: Trump Wishes Christians And Catholics A ‘Peaceful And Prayerful’ Ash Wednesday)
In the speech, he encouraged Catholics to “give up useless words, gossip, rumors, tittle-tattle and speak to God on a first name basis.”
Fasting means knowing how to renounce vanities that pass away and superfluous things, to get to what is essential. It means seeking the beauty of a simpler life. #Lent #GeneralAudience
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) February 26, 2020
“We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet,” he added according to Reuters. “Today, people insult each other as if they were saying ‘Good Day.’”
“We are inundated with empty words, with advertisements, with subtle messages. We have become used to hearing everything about everyone and we risk slipping into a worldliness that atrophies our hearts,” Catholic News Agency reported.
Easter falls on April 12 this year. Lent ends on Thursday, April 9, called either “Holy Thursday” or “Maundy Thursday”, the day before Good Friday, which is the Friday before Easter.