Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi (pictured), the Vatican's most Senior Culture officer who is currently President of the Pontifical Council for Culture said that if priests did not make their sermons more relevant and interesting they risked their sermons becoming irrelevant.
The cardinal was speaking at an event in Rome where he said that social networking sites such as Twitter were a good way to spread the word of God.
The cardinal, who is a champion of new media and who writes a blog for Italy's most respected financial daily II Sole 24 Ore added, “Priests should remember that congregations include the children of the television and the internet.”
He added, “The advent of televised and computerised information requires us to be compelling and trenchant, to cut to the heart of the matter, resort to narratives and colour.”
Moreover, he said, “we need to remember that communicating faith doesn't just take place through sermons. It can be achieved through the 140 characters of a Twitter message.”
Cardinal Ravasi, who was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in November 2010, said, “The bible is crowded with stories, symbols and images.”
He said that too many priests employ theological language that is, “grey, dull and flavourless and was so vapid that it had become quiet meaningless,” and instead they should spice up their sermons with graphic stories contained in the Bible which contained more forceful imagery.
Meanwhile his words have been echoed in Ireland by a number of priests around the country.
The parish priest of Duagh and Lyreacrompane in County Kerry, Fr Pat Moore said “sermons needed to be changed to suit modern congregations as many people become bored easily.”