Parish declares that Facebook and Christianity don't mix

A Roman Catholic parish in Chicago is warning parishioners about the dangers of Facebook. St. John Cantius parish leaders wrote in the church bulletin this past Sunday that Facebook is against the Christian culture. Social networking sites in general apparently encourage vanity and dishonesty by providing an outlet for children to create their own electronic version of reality, concocting their own identities and social realities with a reduced risk of real-world consequences.

Chicago Tribune has the full quote of what parish leaders wrote in the church bulletin:

[Facebook] is exactly the opposite of the Christian culture where people go into the secrecy and sacredness of the confessional to blot out their sins forever. God entrusted parents with the care of their children for one particular purpose, and that is to teach them the way "to know, love, and serve God in this life and save their souls hereafter." Everything leads us to think that Facebook fits poorly into this plan and was devised for a very different goal.

The church wants families to raise children without Facebook, as it supposedly helps youth defy their parents and cultivate feelings of lust. It's rather worrying that families trying to raise their children in a wholesome environment are being told to avoid rather than educate.

Kids are future adults, and must thus learn about this world as much as they can, since they'll be the ones managing it one day. At least for the foreseeable future, Facebook is part of this world.