Pope to nuns: ‘It’s OK to use social media, but don’t let it distract from your vocation’

A Vatican official says the number of nuns who dedicate their lives to prayer and contemplating God is dwindling, even as Pope Francis has written a new document praising their relevance in the world.

Mgr Jose Rodriguez Carballo told reporters on Friday that from 2000 to 2014, their numbers, including novices, plunged from some 55,000 to some 43,000. Spain and Italy have the highest number of them. Some of these nuns choose strictly cloistered lives.

Francis writes that the “large part” of the world that’s dominated by “the mindset of power, wealth and consumerism” has immense need of the “hidden mission” of these nuns.

He says because digital culture influences how we relate to the world, contemplative communities of nuns can use social media, but warns against time-wasting.

The Pope said smartphones and computers offer “useful help for formation and communication”, but added they should not “become an obstacle to your life wholly dedicated to contemplation.”