I really liked this question. It gives me a chance to share what the Franciscan Brothers of Life do with this. I’ll explain our policy first and then the why.
Our policy is that participation on CAF and any other social networking is by permission only. If the superior of the house does not grant the permission, you may not do it. Generally, it’s reserved only for the superior of the house, because he does not need permission.
Let me go to the why. There are several reasons and all have to do with sin.
There is an exposure to sin that is inevitable. We do not live in bubbles. We take buses, walk the street, live with other people and so forth. We’re going to be exposed to sin, because we’re exposed to human beings. We’re exposed to each other’s virtues and sinfulness.
On the other hand, there is also an exposure to sin that is avoidable. Just as you do not watch a dirty movie, because it’s avoidable, you have a moral duty not to expose yourself to immoral behavior: lack of charity, injustice, judging others, ridiculing and humiliating others, unnecessary anger, hostility, rudeness and so forth. There is enough of that that we cannot avoid. The question is why knowingly go where we will find more of it, if we do not have to do so?
Some people will say that they have to expose themselves to such sins on CAF, because they come to learn and evangelize. These sins are a type of occupational hazard. If this is true, then one is not culpable, because one needs to be here. If it’s not true, then one is culpable of placing himself or herself in the proximity of sin unnecessarily. Only you know how much exposure you can tolerate before you begin to react in a sinful manner.
I often find myself dropping a thread when I reach the point where I am feeling hostility toward the other person or persons on the thread. Hostility is not a virtue. It is a sin and it is one that I can avoid by getting out of the thread.
One of my ministries is to evangelize using the internet. It’s part of the mission of my order to spread the Gospel of Life through all means possible. All of our brothers use technology at some point or another and of some kind or another. But we restrict its use too. If a brother’s duties not not require that he use this technology, then it’s not allowed.
As several people have said, if it interferes with other duties, if it interferes with care for your health and appropriate rest, then it is wrong to be here. In addition to this, there is the other reality, the exposure to sin and the temptation to sin is here. Each of us must be honest enough to know when enough is enough before we begin to sin in response to the sins of another.
This is very interesting. There was a time when many religious used the internet for all kinds of ministries. But today, most religious orders regulate it and even censor it. These fora have become more than just a means to evangelize. They have also become a way of spewing out a lot of hate, anger and judgment. We don’t have to deal with that.
We must help each other to avoid hate, uncontrolled anger and judgment of others. We begin by helping ourselves. There are ther two criteria.
If being on CAF takes you away from what you should be doing, then being here is sinful.
Second, if you are exposing yourself to sin, unnecessarily and you know that you’re doing it, then you should ask youself a few questions. Not everyone has the same strength. Some people can be in the middle of a war zone and remain as cool as a cucumber. Other people begin to feel anger, hostility and begin to get ugly toward others or become so self-righteous that they are arrogant. This group of people needs to stay away from this space, just as you would stay away from any other place that is not spiritually beneficial to you.
Thank you for this thread. That’s a wonderful question.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
