Do NOT bring cell phones into the confessional!

[Zatzat]

Yet this is done while the phone is ON, not OFF. When the phone is off, its radio is off and it cannot receive or respond to remote commands, unless like I said earlier it is hacked or modified, which cannot be done remotely. I work for a cellular company that provides service to seafaring vessels, and from time to time the Coast Guard will call us to track down / triangulate the position of a vessel with a certain phone # or IMSI. If the phone is off, the best we can do is tell them their approximate location based on the serving tower on which the last call, registration, or data transmission took place.

Unless someone like Chloe O’Brien from 24 has been tinkering with your phone, once you turn it off, you have nothing to worry about.

Re-posted for clarity and truth…no need to spread fear and paranoia.

 

[petitsourice]

A cell phone is not a need of the common person. I have lived without one my 42 years on Earth will continue to live without one for the rest of my time on Earth. The vast majority of those who have a cell phone at church could of easily not brought it in to church. What did you do before you had a cell phone?!

I worked for a big company once who did not allow me to turn the cell phone off, even for church. They allowed vibrate, but they expected a response in 5 minutes if they called or texted me. When I complained about this I was laid off. =) America, freedom from religion starting in 1973.

However I agree that people should leave them in their cars. When i forget to leave mine in the car I pull the battery out.

And also, it may be rare that employers refuse to give you an hour for mass. To this day I will only work for financial companies on a temporary basis because of that job.

 

[aspawloski4th]

I worked for a big company once who did not allow me to turn the cell phone off, even for church. They allowed vibrate, but they expected a response in 5 minutes if they called or texted me. When I complained about this I was laid off. =) America, freedom from religion starting in 1973.

However I agree that people should leave them in their cars. When i forget to leave mine in the car I pull the battery out.

And also, it may be rare that employers refuse to give you an hour for mass. To this day I will only work for financial companies on a temporary basis because of that job.

I know 3 lawyers personally, all who don’t have ellphones by the way. I’d sue them for all they are worth. They are discriminating on a religous basis. If I lost I’d apeal it, and keep apealing till I won, then I’d bad mouth them big time after I won. Your company has their head where it doesn’t belong. If you wanted to visit me and my wife you couldn’t, we have a rule of no cell phones or tobacco allowed in our home. If you do sue, the best of luck to you!

 

[petitsourice]

I know 3 lawyers personally, all who don’t have ellphones by the way. I’d sue them for all they are worth. They are discriminating on a religous basis. If I lost I’d apeal it, and keep apealing till I won, then I’d bad mouth them big time after I won. Your company has their head where it doesn’t belong. If you wanted to visit me and my wife you couldn’t, we have a rule of no cell phones or tobacco allowed in our home. If you do sue, the best of luck to you!

I have been down this road. Problems:

• when they laid me off, I signed a severance package agreement that exonerates them.
• When it was going on I asked a lawyer and noone would take it without upfront money from me
• The company involved is worth billions (yes, with a B - one of the big evil investment companies)

The problem with lawyers is that they have to make a living too. And wining these kind of cases when everything was “verbal” and you have no proof is tough when facing a multibillion dollar company. The lawyers really can’t take a case without getting paid and these kind of cases where the boss is smart enough to tell you verbally only that you have to keep the cell phone on and never in written form are hard to beat.

 

[DoulaMama]

You are a rarity. I see people in their cars or in the store yaking on their cellphone on and on. 99% of cellphone use is unneccesary. Many car crashes now are caused by yaking on the cellphone, Iv’e had near misses myself because the cell phone was causing the other driver to not payattention. Most people don’t have emergency situations in mind when the buy a cellphone.

I understand where you are coming from with the misuse of cell phones, but most people do have an emergency situation in mind when they originally purchase a cell phone.
Unfortunately, instead of using it for an emergency or when they really need to, they get caught up in the convenience (and distraction of it) and use it way more than they should. I am glad that you feel you don’t need to have one, but all it took for me was a vehicle breakdown on the interstate to be thankful I had one. The world isn’t 1985 anymore (and certainly not the 1960’s of Mayberry), so we can’t just hope that someone nice will stop and help us or a state trooper will come by. It’s not my intention to be argumentative, but I wanted you to see that there are a lot of folks that do start with good intentions when buying a cell phone.

 

[turtle18]

A cell phone is not a need of the common person. I have lived without one my 42 years on Earth will continue to live without one for the rest of my time on Earth. The vast majority of those who have a cell phone at church could of easily not brought it in to church. What did you do before you had a cell phone?!

I agree completely. Just leave it in the car. I know someone will always have some weird exception why they need to bring one in.

 

[LilyM]

The question that you should ask yourself is: “How do I know when my phone is really turned off?”

If you have a phone with an alarm clock, does the phone turn itself on and rings when the alarm goes off? My phone does that even if it looks like it is off (no lights and no response to the keys) and I cannot make phone calls. That implies that the phone is still active and that only some circuitry is in the sleep mode. Most of today’s mobile electronics is designed to go into a sleep mode when not used, and a lot of it is designed to never go completely off.

Not in my case. My phone definitely doesn’t even switch on for alarms, when it’s off it’s OFF.

Theft? Put it under the seat.

Many churches have open benches (ie you can see what’s on the floor underneath a seat) and a phone in such a spot would be found quickly and probably handed in to Lost Property.

The ‘do you know if it’s turned off’ point is a good one too. A good number of devices today never do, as long as they have any power going to them, and have reserve batteries.

Easy enough to take batteries out if this is the case, though. I’ve never known a phone that would KEEP working if the batteries were taken out.

 

[pnewton]

I always keep my phone turned off anyway when appropriate, but I am not going to worry about all the “what ifs” out there. Paranoia will destroy ya, and all that. What if we have a vibration amplification device aimed at the stained glass? Or thermal imaging in our bathrooms?

 

[LilyM]

I agree completely. Just leave it in the car. I know someone will always have some weird exception why they need to bring one in.

No weird exceptions required.

Cars are very frequently broken into and/or stolen, leading to the loss of any mobile phones therein. People, on the other hand, are much more rarely robbed or mugged in or near churches (although sadly it does sometimes happen).

So common sense suggests to me that I am much less likely to have my phone stolen if it is on my person or in my handbag inside the church than I would be if I left it in a parked car in the church parking lot. That, I should think, is enough reason to keep it on my person, and hardly constitutes a ‘weird exception’.

 

[Shin]

No weird exceptions required.

Cars are very frequently broken into and/or stolen, leading to the loss of any mobile phones therein. People, on the other hand, are much more rarely robbed or mugged in or near churches (although sadly it does sometimes happen).

So common sense suggests to me that I am much less likely to have my phone stolen if it is on my person or in my handbag inside the church than I would be if I left it in a parked car in the church parking lot. That, I should think, is enough reason to keep it on my person, and hardly constitutes a ‘weird exception’.

I meant put it under the seat of your car.

I tend to think church parking lots are somewhat safer than other parking lots… but honestly. My dear old mother lives in an urban area, and she works in a town full of illegal immigrants. She leaves her car door unlocked all the time, and nothing has ever happened to it.

To have a phone ringing in your pocket you forgot to turn off, while mass is going on… Well… it’s not a good, let me put it that way. It’s distracting to see you fiddling with it during the mass too, at the least.

People should leave a little more to God. I read a lot of children are addicted to cell phones. But we are not to be addicted to anything. We are to be able to live without. Everyone should learn to live without the cell phone at least some of the time.

And one of the times to definitely do this is in church.

 

[petitsourice]

People should leave a little more to God. I read a lot of children are addicted to cell phones. But we are not to be addicted to anything. We are to be able to live without. Everyone should learn to live without the cell phone at least some of the time.

And one of the times to definitely do this is in church.

i have never understood cell phone “addiction”. Crackberries and what not. I hate mine but its really a work phone – a means to squeeze an extra 4-20 hours of work out of me a month and to interrupt when I am trying to do something with my family.

That overwhelming urge to text – i mean, really, why? Why not call?

 

[LilyM]

I meant put it under the seat of your car.

Which helps immensely if it’s the whole car that’s stolen, or if the thief thinks to look under the seats - and most do, not being bind or ignorant.

I tend to think church parking lots are somewhat safer than other parking lots… but honestly. My dear old mother lives in an urban area, and she works in a town full of illegal immigrants. She leaves her car door unlocked all the time, and nothing has ever happened to it.

And I had a great-great granny who lived to be 107 in spite of smoking every day. Neither exception disproves the rules that it’s a bad idea to smoke or to leave your car unlocked.

To have a phone ringing in your pocket you forgot to turn off, while mass is going on… Well… it’s not a good, let me put it that way. It’s distracting to see you fiddling with it during the mass too, at the least.

I agree. My phone is off and stays off, not just in Mass but a lot of other places too. Only once in all my years of phone ownership and daily Mass attendance has it gone off, and that was only because I’d just got a new phone and not figured it out properly. If it ever goes off in Mass again, i can assure you I’ll probably be the first to volunteer to leave it at home afterwards.

I read a lot of children are addicted to cell phones.

The operative word being ‘children’. I, not being a child, am by no means addicted to my phone, it gets used rarely and that’s the way I like it. Having said which, it IS safer to have it on my person, so I keep it there.

 

[aspawloski4th]

i have never understood cell phone “addiction”. Crackberries and what not. I hate mine but its really a work phone – a means to squeeze an extra 4-20 hours of work out of me a month and to interrupt when I am trying to do something with my family.

That overwhelming urge to text – i mean, really, why? Why not call?

Yes. I don’t want someone calling me when I’m driving, that causes crashes. When I’m away from home I’m unavailable like the way it should be. I dont’t want to hear you phone ring in church or when I’m eating out. Interuption unless it’s for something life or death is rude.

 

[LilyM]

i have never understood cell phone “addiction”. Crackberries and what not. I hate mine but its really a work phone – a means to squeeze an extra 4-20 hours of work out of me a month and to interrupt when I am trying to do something with my family.

That overwhelming urge to text – i mean, really, why? Why not call?

I don’t text a lot, but there are times where it’s appropriate. For example, if someone wants to know an address or the time of an appointment, a text means they definitely have a record for future reference and there’s no chance of them forgetting and having to call me again.

I also tend to text people about non-urgent matters if I know they’re busy at work or elsewhere. That way they can read and respond at leisure and their work time isn’t interrupted.

 

[adstrinity]

Maybe, while we are in the confessional, while our phone is off, we’ll get a text alerting us that our phone is about to begin recording, despite it being off, and the other party obtaining the information, will sign it so we’ll know whether it’s a hacker or the government…or, another government.

 

[Groundskeeper]

i have never understood cell phone “addiction”. Crackberries and what not. I hate mine but its really a work phone – a means to squeeze an extra 4-20 hours of work out of me a month and to interrupt when I am trying to do something with my family.

That overwhelming urge to text – i mean, really, why? Why not call?

I see my phone as a necessary evil so to speak. It’s good to have for emergencies, necessary at work, and a way for my family to bug me . Other than that, I could care less for cell phones.We have a family plan that has 700 minutes a month. There’s 5 of us in the plan and the calls we make to each other don’t count against our monthly minutes (we have t-mobile), so outside outside calls to my family I usually use 20 minutes or less a month. A couple months ago I used 9 minutes.

Doctor visits, lunch with co-workers, going to mass, confession, anything I deem important enough that I don’t want to be bothered, the phone is off. It hardly rings anyways.

And I agree with you about texting…I don’t care for it myself, but it’s easier to get a hold of some people that way, like my younger brother who can’t always answer his phone. If I call when he’s at work and I may not have a chance to reach him when he’s on break, so I just send a text message instead.

 

[revert_jen]

Yes. I don’t want someone calling me when I’m driving, that causes crashes.

Actually, no. This is a common misconception.

If someone calls you while you’re driving, let them leave a voicemail for heaven’s sake. The idea seems to be that if someone calls your cell phone and you don’t answer it immediately, the world will come to an end or something. Trust me, it doesn’t. Lots of times I’ve called people back and said, “Sorry I couldn’t take your call, I was driving.” They still get to talk to me a lot sooner than if they called my home, and I don’t endanger anyone’s life.

Back a little closer to the sbject of this thread, it is certainly possible for the mobile carrier, when your phone is on, to download new software to your phone without your knowledge. This software could include operating software that could affect (probably the next time you turn your phone off and on) how, say, the power button works, so that you would think your phone was off, when it simply did not process calls. But remote activation of the microphone would still be possible.

I have no idea whether anyone ever does this, and of course they would have to know ahead of time that they wanted to use the phone for a listening device (they couldn’t just do it on the spur of the moment). But certainly it would be technically possible to set it up. It would take a fair bit of programming, because they’d basically have to alter the OS of the phone, and they would probably have to do it specifically for the particular phone model. And of course, they would have to either hack the mobile company’s systems or (if they are law enforcement) get the cooperation of the mobile company (although most employees of the mobile company would not know about it). So I’m not saying how simple or even how likely it would be, just that it is technically possible.

And I’m really glad I don’t live where the people can’t leave a phone hidden in a car in a church parking lot for 10-15 minutes to go to confession without having to worry about it being stolen. Although you might have to worry about it melting in the summer. Perhaps the phone could be left in the pew, in the rack or shelf where the missals/missalettes/hymnals are?

–Jen

 

[Shin]

There are numerous different reference citations in the Wiki article about covert listening to activating ‘turned off’ cell phones for eavesdropping purposes.

Which means anyone can do it to you, because if you look long enough on the web, how to do it is there.

Looks like Father is ahead of the tech game.

 

[aspawloski4th]

Actually, no. This is a common misconception.

If someone calls you while you’re driving, let them leave a voicemail for heaven’s sake. The idea seems to be that if someone calls your cell phone and you don’t answer it immediately, the world will come to an end or something. Trust me, it doesn’t. Lots of times I’ve called people back and said, “Sorry I couldn’t take your call, I was driving.” They still get to talk to me a lot sooner than if they called my home, and I don’t endanger anyone’s life.

Back a little closer to the sbject of this thread, it is certainly possible for the mobile carrier, when your phone is on, to download new software to your phone without your knowledge. This software could include operating software that could affect (probably the next time you turn your phone off and on) how, say, the power button works, so that you would think your phone was off, when it simply did not process calls. But remote activation of the microphone would still be possible.

I have no idea whether anyone ever does this, and of course they would have to know ahead of time that they wanted to use the phone for a listening device (they couldn’t just do it on the spur of the moment). But certainly it would be technically possible to set it up. It would take a fair bit of programming, because they’d basically have to alter the OS of the phone, and they would probably have to do it specifically for the particular phone model. And of course, they would have to either hack the mobile company’s systems or (if they are law enforcement) get the cooperation of the mobile company (although most employees of the mobile company would not know about it). So I’m not saying how simple or even how likely it would be, just that it is technically possible.

And I’m really glad I don’t live where the people can’t leave a phone hidden in a car in a church parking lot for 10-15 minutes to go to confession without having to worry about it being stolen. Although you might have to worry about it melting in the summer. Perhaps the phone could be left in the pew, in the rack or shelf where the missals/missalettes/hymnals are?

–Jen

I should rephrase it. Talking on the cell phone causes crashes. How do I know? Here in Grand Rapids a few years ago someone talking o the cellphone got decapitated from rearending a semi, then a little later someone jawjacking on a cell phone ran a redlight and the car totalled out a SUV killing the children in it on thier way to school. The SUV had the right of way, the cell phone talker was going 55. I say cellphones and drving are more dangerous than drinking and driving.

 

[revert_jen]

I should rephrase it. Talking on the cell phone causes crashes. How do I know? Here in Grand Rapids a few years ago someone talking o the cellphone got decapitated from rearending a semi, then a little later someone jawjacking on a cell phone ran a redlight and the car totalled out a SUV killing the children in it on thier way to school. The SUV had the right of way, the cell phone talker was going 55. I say cellphones and drving are more dangerous than drinking and driving.

Sorry, I knew what you meant, I was just trying to make a point that I think needs to be made: just because you get a call, doesn’t mean you have to answer it.

And for those of you who feel you absolutely MUST to talk on the phone while driving, at least get a headset, and put the phone down when you are doing something complicated! I was almost sideswiped last week by someone who apparently thought that being on the phone was an excuse for not looking where she was going as she changed into my lane. I mean, I was right next to her! It’s not like she was going to hit my fender, but was really very few inches from hitting the whole side of my car, and quite possibly killing us both! :bigyikes:

I knew there was a reason my car had a horn. The trick is, honking it early enough that you don’t startle them into hitting you anyway, when there isn’t anywhere else for you to go.

–Jen