Cellphones have been criticized for a lot of things so far. All of the studies taken on the effects of mobile phones over people have shown that they are bad for their health, the radiation emitted by them causing all sorts of diseases and disorders. However, it seems that they are bad for the spirit too, as the Catholic Church urged Italians to give them up and avoid playing their computer games, using their iPhones and social networking sites, such as Facebook, every Friday before Easter.

According to Monsignor Benito Cocchi, the bishop of Modena, in northern Italy, who launched the campaign, this measure is aimed especially at young people, who, by renouncing SMS texting would be enabled to “detox from the virtual world and get back in touch with themselves.” As crazy as this might sound, his appeal has been adopted across Italy, with several other bishops urging young people in their dioceses to give up texting.

 

The bishop referred particularly to text messaging since the Italians are the second most prolific text-messagers in Europe after the British, with each person sending 50 a month on average. And this is not the first urge in this sense, as Pope Benedict XVI already warned in January that people who spend too much time in front of their computers risk isolation and depression.

 

However, this proposal hasn't been received with the same reaction by all the Italian population, people having divided opinions. Thus, Bruno Dallapiccola, a professor of genetics and the head of a Catholic scientific organization said that “It will be a complete flop. Very few kids listen to the guidance of the Church and even fewer will renounce SMS messaging. Do we really think that they'll stop contacting their friends just because a bishop tells them to?”

 

Even more, Gianni Gennari, a theologian who writes for the Catholic newspaper “Avvenire” said that "Good Friday marks the pain of Christ and to suggest a ban on texting as a way of commemorating it is a ridiculous idea. It's like suggesting that we should turn off all electric lights and sit in the darkness." Will the Italians put their phones away during Lent? That remains to be seen.

 

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