When I was in parochial school in the 1960s, the advent (as it were) of Lent prompted recess discussions about what we would give up: comic books, television, candy or -- my suggestion --  gym.

Except for the spinach, these habits were all indulgences, though not the kind the pope grants. Now Italy's Catholic bishops want to reboot the penitential pre-Eastern season by asking the faithful to forgo text-messaging, Internet browsing and other technological thrills.  According to the archdiocese of Modena,  “It's a small way to remember the importance of concrete and not virtual relationships."

Some online activities are indeed analogous to candy, or eye candy, and abstention from them would be a form of edifying self-denial. It wouldn't hurt Catholic kids during Lent to close Facebook and turn off the texting. But, unlike candy, Internet access is sometimes a duty, not a pleasure.

A ban on all interaction with computers, self-imposed or otherwise, is impractical.  Even if compliance were a matter of faith, ingenious theologians would suggest the need for "prudential considerations" -- i.e., loopholes -- in cases where connecting to the Internet was necessary. There is a precedent in the church for suspending even mandatory observances for a higher purpose. Or a lower one: Catholic bishops suspend the Lenten requirement of meatless Fridays when St. Patrick's Day falls on the sixth day of the week.

The church might also want to reconsider its no-computer advice now that Catholic dioceses -- including Modena -- have their own Web sites and the Vatican has christened a Youtube channel. Or maybe Google could defer to the Holy Father and add Paternal controls to its Internet options.