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April 29th, 2007

Called Today: Catholic Church uses cartoons to recruit teenagers

catholic cartoon poster

The Catholic Church of England and Wales is using a cartoon campaign to encourage young people from 10 years old upwards to think about becoming a priest or a member of a religious order. The website, ‘calledtoday‘ was launched today and there are posters going to schools and churches and anyone else with wall space and blu-tack.

I can see why they are only targetting it at 10 year olds – 8 or 9 year olds just wouldn’t be suited to being in a religious order at all.

The cartoons are in a ‘manga’ style apparently. I don’t really ‘get’ manga, but then I don’t get lots of things because I am old. I have to say I like the stories of real people on the website, but the poster doesn’t really make me want to look at the website in the first place as it doesn’t give me any idea what it is about.

Anyhow, the blurb about all this is on the Catholic Church website here, and the Telegraph has reported about it here.

As an aside, the Catholic Church website in England and Wales must be the worst religious website in the UK. I can’t look at most of it because the menus quite simply don’t work. It might just be Firefox they don’t work in, but I’m not about to fire up Internet Explorer to find out in case I break something.

I’m sorry, but I’m not even going to consider becoming a Priest in a denomination whose website doesn’t work. Also I am married.

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15 Responses to “Called Today: Catholic Church uses cartoons to recruit teenagers”


  1. Aaron says:

    The poses, and the manga style, make it look like they’re teaming up to fight interstellar bad guys…

    April 30th, 2007 at 2:44 am
  2. Rob says:

    The Catholic Church Website menus do work in Explorer – Firefox is clearly dangerously heretical and anathema to all good Catholics.

    April 30th, 2007 at 8:31 am
  3. rosamundi says:

    The website doesn’t work in Firefox, but does work in Exploder. But at least it vaguely works these days…

    April 30th, 2007 at 9:15 am
  4. jody says:

    I get the priest the monk and the nun….but who are the other two guys?

    that sounds the start to a very bad joke (there was a priest a monk and a nun…)

    April 30th, 2007 at 10:24 am
  5. Raspberry Rabbit says:

    I think they are teaming up to fight interstellar bad guys, aren’t they?

    April 30th, 2007 at 10:52 am
  6. Mary says:

    Dave,

    You can get away with being married, so long as you become a priest in the CofE first. THEN convert…

    BTW, anyone else see a shadowy figure behind the nun?

    Interesting they’re targetting at 10yos… is that because they’re trying to “grab” them before they discover an interest in the opposite sex?

    April 30th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
  7. Keith says:

    I tried seven of the links on the Catholic website in Firefox and only had a problem with one. I love the picture they’ve chosen for the top of the website, and also the second feature after the one you highlight about an award for Clifton Cathedral for excellence ‘in the use of concrete and having sustained the test of time’!

    April 30th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
  8. Liz Rose says:

    I think its a tree behind the nun and isn’t the devil an interstellar bad guy ?

    April 30th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
  9. joe says:

    Rather unfortunate choice of URL. Catholic? Ewww…

    Not quite as bad as the Christian Union Movement which was used temporarily by UCCF.

    April 30th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
  10. rosamundi says:

    jody, the other two are active religious, as opposed to the two in habits, who are cloistered/contemplative.

    April 30th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
  11. Paul Martin says:

    I myself am a ten year old studying for the Catholic priesthood. It has aged me a great deal.

    April 30th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
  12. Aaron says:

    So long as the devil shows up in the form of a giant lizard, with laser eyes and a rocket-launcher backpack, then these are the people to fight him. Of course, they’ll be called into action from all over the globe by their crosses glowing – each cross glows with the individual’s signature colour. In the middle of celebrating the mass, in prayer, serving at a drop-in shelter, doing a little Opus Dei…the call comes and they leap into action. They all shout, “Called Today!” and jump into their various space scooters, which are painted in their signature colour. The scooters, of course, can assemble into a giant robot that uses a laser-firing crosier and a power-swinging thurible as weapons. The cartoon stinks but the toys are selling like mad.

    Did I grow up in the 70s and 80′s or what?

    May 1st, 2007 at 9:27 pm
  13. Simon says:

    I’m sorry, but I’m not even going to consider becoming a Priest in a denomination whose website doesn’t work. Also I am married.???

    As the CofE website works in Firefox and Explorer, and they accept married men to train as priests, does this mean we will see you in a dogcollar some time soon??

    May 1st, 2007 at 9:52 pm
  14. Dave says:

    Thanks for the great comments as per always.

    Simon. No.

    May 1st, 2007 at 11:14 pm
  15. Teresa Murray says:

    Hi
    I have Just found your Web Site I was looking for posters for Young Catholic People for our church.
    I am a Youth Worker I run a large Youth Centre For the Bourgh its not a Catholic Centre!

    I think your poster is Great!!
    Down to earth
    Aimed at Young People
    difrent!some people dont like Change
    Give the Artist a pat on the Back!!
    Cheers! Teresa

    May 3rd, 2007 at 10:40 am