Pope says cell phones should NOT be used at mass

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Before every Mass, our announcements begin with “put your phones and pagers in silent operating mode”. At every Mass at least one cell phone rings.

I will bet you a ham sandwich that the Holy Father is speaking about using a phone to take calls, texts and photographs during Mass. He is correct. Watching priests take selfies during Papal Masses is scandalous.
 
I think if you are just talking about chatting or texting on the phone during mass- I thought it would just be common courtesy.
 
Good for the Pope, whether he said it or not - he should have.
 
I hope so, I follow daily mass readings on my iMissal app. I would hate for that to end.
 
TheLittleLady said:
Before every Mass, our announcements begin with “put your phones and pagers in silent operating mode”. At every Mass at least one cell phone rings.

I will bet you a ham sandwich that the Holy Father is speaking about using a phone to take calls, texts and photographs during Mass. He is correct. Watching priests take selfies during Papal Masses is scandalous.
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Yup – the Pope was referencing – using the phone for taking photographs–during Mass.
Or why at a certain point does the priest who presides over the celebration say: “Let us raise our hearts?” He doesn’t say: “Let us raise our phones to take a photograph!” No, it’s an awful thing! And I tell you that it makes me so sad when I celebrate here in the Square or in the Basilica and I see so many phones raised, not only of the faithful, but also of some priests and even of Bishops. But please! The Mass isn’t a show: it’s to go to encounter the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord. That’s why the priest says: Let us raise our hearts” What does this mean? Remember – no telephones.

Pope’s Catechesis on the Heart of the Church - ZENIT - English
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I have been to some beautiful cathedrals here in the U.S… At least once, the priest, before the beginning of Mass, invited everyone to take a picture if they wanted, then put their phones away for the celebration of Mass. It may have been at Holy Name in Chicago.
 
The priest at the Mass I attended yesterday evening mentioned the Pope saying that. I would also note that St Peter’s in general as well as many other churches do not like anyone taking pictures during Mass. I avoid doing that. I’ve done it maybe once or twice. Usually I will take the pictures before or after though.

There’s a difference between using your device to take pictures, make calls, text your friends and using it to pull up your daily readings to participate in the Mass. Pretty sure the Pope would not object to people reading along with the readings.
 
It’s common sense.

However my priest used his cell phone as a flashlight when the power went out one time.
 
This must be the origin of the original post: Pope Francis spoke recently about people taking pictures at his Masses, like he is a celebrity and it is a social-media photo opportunity.
"It makes me very sad when I celebrate [Mass] here in the piazza or in the basilica and I see so many cell phones held up. Not only by the faithful, but also by some priests and even bishops!

"The Mass is not a show … so remember, no cell phones!” he said, prompting laughter and applause from the crowd.
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Good point, Father!

He did not say you can’t use it as an information resource or flashlight.

 
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@Walking_Home and @RandomAlias posted the actual quotes from Pope Francis’ Wednesday catechesis.

Note, Pope Francis has to endure this a lot more than your average priest or bishop. Lots of people go to Rome—and go to see the Pope on Wednesdays or Sundays—as tourists more so than pilgrims. And even the pilgrims (like the priests and bishops concelebrating!) want their photographic mementos of what is often a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And so, cell phones (and even tablets) are out and held high.

From Pope Francis’ perspective, I can see how it would be very distracting and discouraging to be in the middle of celebrating Mass before tens of thousands of people and to look out and see a bunch of electronic devices in the air as if he is putting on a show.

Of course, he is right. The Mass is not a show. And I think we as a culture need to be more willing to embrace setting our phones aside in order to actually live in the moment rather than be concerned primarily with capturing the moment. This is especially true at Mass.

Note he is not saying that someone who is using their phone to follow along with the Mass readings needs to hang their head in shame. 😜
 
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A Wednesday audience is not a Mass. many, myself included, took pictures. When he spoke, hardly any near where we were seated. (Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
I think we are only beginning to see the repercussions of the ubiquity of smart phones. They are a very handy tool in a lot of ways, but also a huge source of distraction. I’m curious at what types of studies are being done by psychologists.
 
Cajun

I agree. I have often thought that it would be great to have the power grid go down for awhile. Then we’d have to get out from behind our screens and actually communicate.

Of course if the grid did go down then there would be other problems like not being able to get gas or money, so…

Blessings
 
What do you mean? Masses are celebrated every day. Every day is a liturgical day.
 
I mean during the Popes weekly general audience, that event is not a Mass.
 
jas84173 said:
It’s common sense.

However my priest used his cell phone as a flashlight when the power went out one time.
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One of the priests I know puts his homily on his phone. He always says “why should I kill a tree”.

In the same way, I know many are enjoying apps like iBrievery. I know a few elderly enjoy it because they can have huge text witout fighting over the half dozen oversized print missels. I think people should know the bounds of phones but should be careful not to judge others.
 
Xanthippe_Voorhees said:
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jas84173:
It’s common sense.

However my priest used his cell phone as a flashlight when the power went out one time.
Click to expand...
One of the priests I know puts his homily on his phone. He always says “why should I kill a tree”.

In the same way, I know many are enjoying apps like iBrievery. I know a few elderly enjoy it because they can have huge text witout fighting over the half dozen oversized print missels. I think people should know the bounds of phones but should be careful not to judge others.
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That’s not what the Pope meant.

He was referring to people taking out their phones to take pictures during mass

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...charist-not-pictures-put-the-phone-away-45111
 
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