Wednesday, July 17, 2013
More Twitter shenanigans
Those obsessed with the number of followers they have on Twitter may have considered at one time or another offering incentives for people to follow them. Other just attract followers through their magnetic personality. Personally I am content to scrape along with whoever I can get.
One Tweeter though has at his disposal the ultimate incentive. According to the Guardian the Vatican has let it be known that following live events on Twitter which involve the Pope could see you get to heaven much quicker. They are offering of "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets:
The church's granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.
The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.
But a senior Vatican official warned web-surfing Catholics that indulgences still required a dose of old-fashioned faith, and that paradise was not just a few mouse clicks away.
"You can't obtain indulgences like getting a coffee from a vending machine," Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the pontifical council for social communication, told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
Indulgences these days are granted to those who carry out certain tasks – such as climbing the Sacred Steps, in Rome (reportedly brought from Pontius Pilate's house after Jesus scaled them before his crucifixion), a feat that earns believers seven years off purgatory.
But attendance at events such as the Catholic World Youth Day, in Rio de Janeiro, a week-long event starting on 22 July, can also win an indulgence.
Mindful of the faithful who cannot afford to fly to Brazil, the Vatican's sacred apostolic penitentiary, a court which handles the forgiveness of sins, has also extended the privilege to those following the "rites and pious exercises" of the event on television, radio and through social media.
"That includes following Twitter," said a source at the penitentiary, referring to Pope Francis' Twitter account, which has gathered seven million followers. "But you must be following the events live. It is not as if you can get an indulgence by chatting on the internet
There is a catch though. It only works if the beneficiary has previously confessed and is "truly penitent and contrite". The Vatican also requires the beneficiary to pray whilst following events in Rio online, and to do so with "requisite devotion".
Still at least they won't insist on inspecting an applicant's internet history first.
One Tweeter though has at his disposal the ultimate incentive. According to the Guardian the Vatican has let it be known that following live events on Twitter which involve the Pope could see you get to heaven much quicker. They are offering of "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets:
The church's granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.
The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.
But a senior Vatican official warned web-surfing Catholics that indulgences still required a dose of old-fashioned faith, and that paradise was not just a few mouse clicks away.
"You can't obtain indulgences like getting a coffee from a vending machine," Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the pontifical council for social communication, told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.
Indulgences these days are granted to those who carry out certain tasks – such as climbing the Sacred Steps, in Rome (reportedly brought from Pontius Pilate's house after Jesus scaled them before his crucifixion), a feat that earns believers seven years off purgatory.
But attendance at events such as the Catholic World Youth Day, in Rio de Janeiro, a week-long event starting on 22 July, can also win an indulgence.
Mindful of the faithful who cannot afford to fly to Brazil, the Vatican's sacred apostolic penitentiary, a court which handles the forgiveness of sins, has also extended the privilege to those following the "rites and pious exercises" of the event on television, radio and through social media.
"That includes following Twitter," said a source at the penitentiary, referring to Pope Francis' Twitter account, which has gathered seven million followers. "But you must be following the events live. It is not as if you can get an indulgence by chatting on the internet
There is a catch though. It only works if the beneficiary has previously confessed and is "truly penitent and contrite". The Vatican also requires the beneficiary to pray whilst following events in Rio online, and to do so with "requisite devotion".
Still at least they won't insist on inspecting an applicant's internet history first.
