Thou shalt not tweet: Catholic bishop dismisses 'inane chatter' of digital world

Forgive me father for I have tweeted. I've coveted my neighbour's MySpace page, and poked my mother and father on Facebook.

Confession might go something like this if Catholics take seriously a new decree by the Bishop of Paisley, the Rt Rev Philip Tartaglia.

"We need to be wary of the inane chatter that can go on in the digital world which does nothing to promote growth in understanding and tolerance," he says in a message to be read out at every Catholic church in Scotland this weekend.

Since friendship in the social networking sphere typically involves nothing more intimate than an exchange of messages, you might think they would be encouraged by the Catholic church. But no. "We should avoid an obsessive need for virtual connectedness and develop primary human relationships, pursuing true friendship with real people," the bishop says.

His message also seems odd given the Vatican's current enthusiasm for the web. Only yesterday, the pope's head of press, Father Federico Lombardi, said the "internet is truly blessed". The church has embraced initiatives such as sending daily prayers by text, email and Twitter; a Twitter version of the Passion Play, and the Vatican YouTube channel.

Perhaps someone from the Vatican should tell Tartaglia about all this. Maybe a text from Rome is heading his way.