Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s
1.2 billion Roman Catholics, had a great
message the other day, one that applies to
all people, whether they’re Catholic or not.
“Don’t follow Donald Trump on
Twitter,” he said. “Follow me instead.”
No, he didn’t say that, though he did
have a message about the device that
people often use to access social media. Speaking to
tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square in
Vatican City, the Pope made reference to a communion
prayer: “The priest says ‘Lift up your hearts.’ He does
not say, ‘Lift up your cellphones to take pictures.”
According to a Reuters report, the Pope called using
cellphones (or mobiles) during Catholic Mass as “a very
ugly thing.”
He elaborated on the ugliness, saying, “It makes me
very sad when I celebrate (Mass) here in the piazza or
in the basilica and I see so many cellphones held up.
Not only by the faithful, but also by some priests and
even bishops! The Mass is not a show … so remember,
no cellphones!”
The crowd broke out in laughter and applause—
and some folks probably pulled out their cellphones to
capture the moment.
The Reuters report notes that Pope Francis has
been urging followers to be more spiritual and priests
to be more humble. The Pope travels in a simple car—a
blue Ford Focus—and doesn’t like to see priests drawn
to flashy cars and the latest smartphones.
But let’s put humility aside for a moment. Whether
you own the latest iPhone or the cheapest phone
available, the Pope’s message applies to you: Don’t pull
your cellphone out indiscriminately. There are many
situations in which a cellphone is best kept in your
pocket or handbag.
It’s easy for me to talk,
of course, but much harder
to put my words into practice.
In the last week alone,
my cellphone etiquette
has twice been called
into question.
The first time was
when my wife and I went
to my son’s elementary
school for a meeting with
his teacher. While we were
waiting outside the classroom
for the meeting to
begin, I received a text
message from a contractor
who is remodeling part of
our house. I began to type
a reply, but before I could finish, the teacher appeared
at the door and ushered us into the classroom. As we
sat down and the teacher spoke to us, I tried to quickly
finish my text message and send it. But before I could
type a single word, my wife reached out, snatched the
cellphone out of my hands and set it on the desk in
front of us. She didn’t say anything, but the message
was clear: it’s inappropriate to be using a cellphone
during a meeting with your son’s teacher.
I knew it was inappropriate. I really did. But I felt
an urge to finish the message I had begun—as though
it would disappear if I put the cellphone back into my
pocket. In the same way, many people feel the urge to
send texts while they are driving. No, the red light does
not mean “time to text.”
The second time I used my phone in a questionable
way was during a choir concert that my children
were participating in. Sitting in the audience with my
wife, I set the cellphone beside me to keep track of football
scores. My wife glared at me, but did not snatch the
phone from me, perhaps because I made it a point to
look straight ahead at the children performing in the
choir. When I glanced at the phone between songs, I did
so discreetly—through the corner of my eyes.
Oh, I forgot to mention this important fact: the
choir concert was in a church. Good thing the Pope
wasn’t around.
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
[Comments? Contributions? We would love to hear from you about Chai Time. If you have contributions, please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]