Pope Francis asks followers to give up trolling for Lent

Pope Francis has urged Catholics to disconnect from their phones and TVs during Lent, lamenting a modern society “inundated with empty words” where people “insult each other as if they were saying ‘Good Day.’”

The speech, partially quoted by Reuters and Catholic News Agency, echoes secular calls to be less extremely online. “We live in an environment polluted by too much verbal violence, by many offensive and harmful words, which the internet amplifies,” said Pope Francis. “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.”

“Hearing everything about everyone” is a remarkably good...

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