A NEWLY-LAUNCHED iphone application for Catholics may not be used for confessions, says a Vatican spokesman.
Father Federico Lombardi, according to this report, said that technology was no substitute for being present when admitting sins to a priest.
His statement follows the launch of Confession: A Roman Catholic app aimed at helping Catholics through their confessions.
Said Lombardi:
One cannot speak in any way of confessing via iPhone.
He added that confession required the presence of the penitent and the priest.
This cannot be substituted by any IT application.
The app, which costs £1.19, thought to be the first to be approved by the Catholic Church, walks Catholics through the sacrament and contains what the company behind the program describes as:
A personalized examination of conscience for each user.
The application is not designed to replace going to confession but to help Catholics through the act, which generally involves admitting sins to a priest in a confessional booth.
Some reports on its approval by the Catholic Church in the US suggested confession would now be possible via iPhone.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
February 11th, 2011 at 9:25 am
“Dial M for Mother Superior”
February 11th, 2011 at 10:00 am
No problem. I wasn’t going to use mine for confession anyway.
February 11th, 2011 at 10:01 am
Or as ratty would put it, dial nein, nein, nein!
February 11th, 2011 at 11:17 am
Is there any problem if the priest is a greater sinner than the confessee? Or are the paedo priests able to put their abuse aside while hearing the relative confessional peccadillos of the confessee?
February 11th, 2011 at 11:29 am
I understand one of the options on this thing is instructions about confessing to the ‘sin’ of homosexuality (Wayne Besen, the US guy who campaigns against the ‘ex-gay’ industry, put out something on it yesterday).
If I remember right, Apple recently withdrew another of these religious apps after complaints that it was promoting racist, sexist or homophobic behaviour (don’t remember the exact details off-hand). Worth complaining to Apple about this one perhaps – if only to put professional biscuit-munchers on the spot.
February 11th, 2011 at 12:30 pm
The CHURCH has always been infamous for making sin easily forgivable Paying for your sins to be forgiven was always popular with the worshipers of Mammon. No this helps give the priests more free time for the fun things in life.
February 11th, 2011 at 1:02 pm
The catlickers hang onto Dark Age superstition while using technology made using logic and reason. You couldn’t make it up. Of course the catholics can get away with child abuse, bombing etc and make it OK by talking to their sky daddy.
February 11th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
And this is from the very people who tell the world that a visible, responsive presence is not a requirement for communication when it comes to sinful matters.
February 11th, 2011 at 3:28 pm
@Broga. There’s probably a separate app for paedophile priests. Most likely gives Google map directions to where the victims live.
February 11th, 2011 at 9:03 pm
Who owns the company that developed the app? Sounds like a nice little earner,it’s a huge market.
February 11th, 2011 at 9:38 pm
Obviously the Catholic kids will like this more than their elders because, not only will it keep them away from the paedo priests, but they’d be able to type 50 Hail Marys faster.
February 11th, 2011 at 9:47 pm
Nice. Sin your ass off, confess on your iPhone, get absolved. Nowadays you don’t even have to bother with a pesky church service or BJ with a priest before you’re back to sinning. Those Catholics really know what they’re doing.
February 11th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
The screen encourages the touching of an active user. Surely that has been the cause of much of the papists problems, especially when the active users have been young boys.
Angela_K, my much loved,eighteen year old cat would scratch out the eyes of any such scum that tried to lick her.
February 12th, 2011 at 1:18 am
Well, of course the Vatican is opposed to such an idea. If you don’t show up at church, you can’t drop the contribution in the box. For two pounds you can be absolved until your iphone pukes or is obsolete? That ain’t happenin’.
What blows my mind is what kind of idiot would broadcast their sins over wireless internet. Even cable and fiber optic communications are copied and stored, not only by your own device, but, the ISP as well. Wifi goes out to anyone equipt to receive it. Admitting you screwed the neighbors fifteen year old daughter may result in absolution from god, but, it may not swing that way with the magistrate.
NeoWolfe