De Leon: Why I'm not buying Vatican's 'click to pray' wearable rosary

WHILE the Vatican may not seem like the most tech-forward institution, there have been heaps of signs that the church is exerting tremendous efforts to engage "Millennials and Gen Z" through technology.

Pope Francis started his own Instagram account in 2016, and the Vatican launched a messaging app, called Telegram, to communicate and help Catholics during Lenten season and what not.

And since October is the month of the rosary, the Vatican recently announced the launch of the "Click to Pray eRosary" -- an app-driven device that can be worn as a bracelet designed to attract younger people in prayer.

It can be activated when a user makes the sign of the cross, similar to how Catholics begin praying the rosary.

Once started, the wearer has the selection between three different options to pray: the standard rosary, a contemplative rosary or a thematic rosary, which will be updated every year. More so, the device shows the users progress throughout each prayer and keeps track of each rosary completed. How insanely cool is that?

However, just days after its launch, security concerns emerged as the gadget's flaw was said to be nestled in the authentication system.

One security researcher -- who apparently hacked the app in just 15 minutes -- claimed on Twitter that he had contacted the Vatican afterwards so they could fix the issue together.

Moreover, the price is nothing to laugh at as the eRosary is available to buy now for $110.

And though the initiative serves as a possible middle ground between the church's mightiest traditions and its intentions to embrace innovations, I expect the result to be subtle since it can be re-directed to a more appropriate age-group.

We're certain that by this time, you've already taught us -- millennials and Gen-Z -- how to pray and rest assured that the foundations of our faith goes beyond that little screen, the very object of all the criticisms and stereotypes thrown at us.

However, since children today practically start learning how to operate gadgets even before they can speak in coherent sentences. As with any good habit, we'll want to reinforce prayer as a regular part of life as early as possible. Once a child can communicate verbally, they can learn to pray on their own, either out loud or silently.

So please don't get it me wrong. I love the effort. It's cool. But it's not just for me.

Stay active until our next chat!

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Need more tips in life, career and beyond? Invite me to speak in your event or reach me at "Coach Pat de Leon" on Facebook.

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