Smartphone addiction in church

And not from a parishioner.

With a private as well as public high school in my current newspaper bailiwick, I occasionally, as in once a year, have to stick my head inside the local Catholic church. As in, for the Catholic private school's graduation ceremony, which includes a full Mass.

Well, cellphones do go off occasionally in church. Hell, in "real church," 15 years ago, I heard one go off during a Dallas Symphony Orchestra concert. It was about 2 minutes into the first piece on the program. Andrew Litton stopped. Full stop. Then turned around. Then, he made a decorous, but forceful, "suggestion" that everybody check their phone and turn it OFF. ("Vibrate" as an option was rare that long ago.) Then, he restarted.

Anyway, the local priest must have had his brick on "vibrate." And, must be addicted.

And, being Catholic, not a Baptist brother preacher, further illustrates.

No more than 2 minutes before the start of the processional, he reaches under his cassock, whips out his brick and checks it.

Really?

Short of one of your parents facing near death (remember, he's Catholic, no home life family), why are you needing to check your phone at that time?

You're not.

Sidebar: The Mass bell again reminds me of a Pavlov's dog experiment.