Priest’s tweets - Reaching a new flock

THE slickest way to keep in touch with young people nowadays is social networking. Basically, that means chatting over the internet about shared interests or activities like football, music, space exploration, the class of ‘92 or, believe it or not, the Stations of the Cross.

To communicate in a really effective way with the tweeting generation, Twitter or Facebook are the answer. Members of the clergy who are out of touch with their flock ought to consider taking a lead from Fr Paddy Byrne, the curate at Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, who plans to “tweet around the Cross” tomorrow. Traditionalists may find that concept somewhat provocative but there is a lot to be said for his proposal.

It is fair to say that in modern Ireland, the Stations of the Cross, focal point of the Good Friday ceremonies, no longer command the level of popular appeal they once enjoyed. By using the most innovative means of communications at his disposal, Fr Byrne, who already has a following of 500 on Twitter, can be sure of reaching out beyond Bagenalstown and addressing a far wider and possibly younger audience.