The congregation of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth has launched a project to make half its members in South Asia computer literate this year. “We are making computer education for our sisters mandatory from this year,” Sister Sangeetha Ayithamattam, who heads the congregation in the region, told ucanews.com yesterday. The South Asia province is looking to make all its members digital savvy within the next three years, she added. “In this age it’s important to be up to date on world events,” Sister Ayithamattam explained. The provincial said the congregation started computer education three years ago. “We’ve now had to make it compulsory since many didn’t bother to learn the technology,” she added. The congregation has already introduced computer and Internet services in all but one of its 43 houses in the province that covers India and Nepal. Brother Mani Mekkunnel, national secretary of the Conference of Religious India, described the move as a “step forward.” Only about 20 percent of India’s more than 100,000 Religious women are computer literate, the Montfort Brother said. Total computer literacy among Catholic Religious people is necessary for the Church to fulfill its mission in the modern world, he asserted. Sister Malini Manjaly, who is coordinating the Nazareth project, claims the move will save paper, time, the environment and money. “We hope to become a paperless congregation soon,” she told ucanews.com. The congregation is to install computers and Internet in its three formation houses to introduce young members to the digital world, Sister Manjaly explained. Priority is on rural areas, she said, adding that the project has excited all in the congregation. Sister Mary Joseph Pamplaniel, 75, says she’s looking forward to the course so she can communicate with her relatives in India and overseas more cheaply. Related reports Nuns Donate Hair For Young Cancer Patients In United StatesVocation Crisis Leads Women´s Congregations To Merge IA12962.1637
