Vatican Voices Disapproval for Confession iPhone App

[Logan Westbrook]

Vatican Voices Disapproval for Confession iPhone App

iPhone apps are no replacement for a priest, says Vatican spokesman.

Confession: A Roman Catholic App, a religious-themed application for the iPhone and iPad, has met with disapproval from the Vatican, despite having received a stamp of approval from a bishop. As you might have guessed from its title, Confession is intended to help Catholic iPhone users confess their sins.

Confession has password protected profiles, which keep track of a user's age, gender, occupation, and the amount of time between confessions. It also contains a step-by-step guide to the sacrament so that users might take part in the Rite of Penance. Confession's developer, Little iApps, worked in conjunction with two priests to make sure all the text was accurate, and the app received an imprimatur - which is essentially the Catholic Church's seal of approval - from Bishop Kevin C. Rhodes of the Diocese of Fort Wayne - South Bend.

Unfortunately for Little iApps, and quite possibly Bishop Rhodes too, the Vatican doesn't agree with the Bishop's assessment. In a statement, Vatican spokesperson Federico Lombardi said that an iPhone app could never take the place of an actual priest, and that under no circumstances was it possible to confess through a piece of software. He said that it was vital that people understood that the Rite of Penance was a dialogue between the penitent and his or her confessor.

This mark of disapproval from the Vatican will no doubt be quite a blow to Little iApps, especially as it was an address by Pope Benedict XVI himself that inspired the studio to make the app in the first place. It also raises some interesting questions about the role of technology in the Catholic Church - and indeed, a lot of other faiths - but those are probably best left to people better qualified to answer them.

Source: Daily Mail [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1355479/iPhone-confessions-app-banned-Catholics-Vatican.html?ITO=1490]


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[Jamous]

Heh, they're just worried it'll put priests out of jobs. On topic, doesn't sound like that bad an idea. I don't believe in this personally; but it'd be much easier to confess online that to a person, I think.

 

[Natdaprat]

So because the Vatican says it's no replacement, that makes it fact?

 

[BioHazardMan]

Lol now he'll be out of a job.

 

[voetballeeuw]

Awesome. Now I can confess in between sessions of Angry Birds, which usually end with me swearing.

 

[Natdaprat]

So because the Vatican says it's no replacement, that makes it fact?

Yes.
It's software meant to be used by catholics in replacement for a catholic practice. So if what amounts to the catholic boss (the vatican) say it's a no go, then it's a no go.

I suppose if it made the Vatican more money they wouldn't complain. But that's another story. The Vatican is entitled to define how to practice their religion, I can't argue with that logic.

 

[fordneagles]

Oh no! A societal group disapproving of something in which they're depicted? Never!

Seriously, unless this results in the app being taken off the App Store, this is just free publicity for the app and its developers. If they hadn't mentioned it, there'd be a lot more people who wouldn't know this app existed

 

[Isalan]

Chances of being abused by an iPhone: Zero
Chances of being abused by a priest: Ummm... not zero.

Is the vatican's opinion going to stop people downloading this? Wouldn't have thought so.

 

[PunkyMcGee]

i agree with the Vatican on this one. Making confession an app is quite silly. it's a rite of repentance. Making it convenient sorta defeats the whole thing.

 

[Waaghpowa]

So I guess the only thing the Vatican doesn't disapprove of these days is child abuse.

but it'd be much easier to confess online that to a person, I think.

This is true, people don't usually like confrontation so doing it online could be nice for some.

 

[Toriver]

So because the Vatican says it's no replacement, that makes it fact?

That's because in the Catholic Church, a priest has to dispense absolution from your sins and give you a penance in order for it to be a true reconciliation. An iPhone app can't do that. So while this may not actually be meant to take the place of the sacrament of reconciliation, it could confuse many Catholics into thinking it's a valid substitute when it's really not. That's the problem with it.

 

[Cliff_m85]

Heh, they're just worried it'll put priests out of jobs. On topic, doesn't sound like that bad an idea. I don't believe in this personally; but it'd be much easier to confess online that to a person, I think.

Forgive me father, for I have sinned.

I have anger in my heart, great anger. I grow tired of the pigs of the world and have committed murder against them.

 

[lacktheknack]

So because the Vatican says it's no replacement, that makes it fact?

Of course.

No one else needs this type of confession, and the Vatican came up with it, so yes, it does.

Anyways, go Vatican. If your religious rites are replaced by an app, I mourn for this world.

 

[Natdaprat]

So because the Vatican says it's no replacement, that makes it fact?

That's because in the Catholic Church, a priest has to dispense absolution from your sins and give you a penance in order for it to be a true reconciliation. An iPhone app can't do that. So while this may not actually be meant to take the place of the sacrament of reconciliation, it could confuse many Catholics into thinking it's a valid substitute when it's really not. That's the problem with it.

Cannot argue with that.

 

[Cliff_m85]

So because the Vatican says it's no replacement, that makes it fact?

That's because in the Catholic Church, a priest has to dispense absolution from your sins and give you a penance in order for it to be a true reconciliation. An iPhone app can't do that. So while this may not actually be meant to take the place of the sacrament of reconciliation, it could confuse many Catholics into thinking it's a valid substitute when it's really not. That's the problem with it.

Only a true Frangulagilist can dispense Silappuputum upon the erignum of the people. An iPhone cannot do that.


It's a silly rite and practice that does nothing whatsoever. The iPhone does just as much good in my opinion.

 

[UbarElite]

Should be linked to facebook.

"Bob has gone to online confession for Adultery."

 

[spartan231490]

Heh, they're just worried it'll put priests out of jobs. On topic, doesn't sound like that bad an idea. I don't believe in this personally; but it'd be much easier to confess online that to a person, I think.

Kinda this.
Also, I'm not catholic, so I could be wrong, but isn't the point of confession to confess to God and be repentant and then be granted forgiveness? If so, then the Iphone is pretty much just as good of a conduit to god as a priest, since He is in all places. Also, I thought technically you could confess in private, that the priest was just a method of formalizing the confession and to gauge if you were repentant or not, and if you were to formally grant you absolution. Like I said, i could be wrong, but if I'm even close to right than the only real reason to oppose it is because it would decrease the number of times people visited church.

Read a couple of posts, looks like I'm wrong.

 

[spartan231490]

So because the Vatican says it's no replacement, that makes it fact?

That's because in the Catholic Church, a priest has to dispense absolution from your sins and give you a penance in order for it to be a true reconciliation. An iPhone app can't do that. So while this may not actually be meant to take the place of the sacrament of reconciliation, it could confuse many Catholics into thinking it's a valid substitute when it's really not. That's the problem with it.

Only a true Frangulagilist can dispense Silappuputum upon the erignum of the people. An iPhone cannot do that.


It's a silly rite and practice that does nothing whatsoever. The iPhone does just as much good in my opinion.

That's why your not catholic. The fact is, that catholics believe in the rite, and all of it's accompanied rules. Their belief in it, gives the rite power, and they believe in doing it the right way. Truth is irrelevant when it is unknowable, therefore the perception is all that holds power. I now understand the opposition.