Lent, he said in partially improvised remarks, “is a time to give up useless words, gossip, rumours, tittle-tattle and speak to God on a first name basis,” he said.

“We live in an atmosphere polluted by too much verbal violence, too many offensive and harmful words, which are amplified by the internet,” he said. “Today, people insult each other as if they were saying ‘Good Day.'”

In recent years, Francis himself has been the butt of insults from ultra-conservative Catholic websites and mostly anonymous anti-pope Twitter feeds.

Twitter has also become a platform for sometimes pitched verbal battles between his supporters and detractors.