Monks turn to Facebook, Web to recruit new members

In a twist of irony, a community of contemplative monks that has shied away from public interaction for years is now turning to the Internet to seek new members. Benedictine monks at the Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island have opened a website along with a YouTube channel, an account on social networking site Facebook, and even downloadable ringtones. "Listening is not an activity the world finds easy. There are many distractions — noise, television, violence, competing moral values, the internet — in short, we rarely assume a contemplative attitude in our lives," the monks said on their website. Yet, the monks are trying to attract new members via the Net, with an FAQ page on how life is inside the monastery. A YouTube channel offers online surfers an invitation to their way of life and a glimpse into monasticism. Their photos and videos are also uploaded on their Facebook account, where they interact with the outside world. Visitors to their website can even download a Gregorian Chant ringtone. A story in The New York Times said the 12 monks in the abbey are aging, five of them octogenarians and the youngest turning 50 on his next birthday. “We’re down in numbers, we’re aging, we feel the pressure to do whatever we can ... If this is the way the younger generation are looking things up and are communicating, then this is the place to be," the New York Times story quoted Abbot Caedmon Holmes, who has been in charge of the abbey since 2007, as saying. The NYT story also said some of the monks will even write blogs. It also said the monks defend their use of technology and social media, noting even the Vatican has embraced them. The Vatican has its own YouTube channel and a Facebook page dedicated to the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II. — TJD, GMA News