"Cyberslums" need pastoral care, too

Italian priest urges ministries to reach out online

Turkish women use Twitter at a cafe in Istanbul. (CNS/EPA)

When Pope Francis urges people to reach out to the ghettos, that includes dark parts of the online world, Father Fortunato Di Noto tells a Vatican news conference.

"We have to make sure that these places of emotional destitution, these new digital peripheries that I would call 'digital slums,' can be made habitable," because places that lack all forms of compassion and human connection attract ravenous "vultures," he said.

His work has become a kind of online ministry, he said, that offers "real accompaniment on the Internet because there are many people who are in need because they 'live' in this place every day."

A former victim of cyberharassment also spoke at the news conference.