iPhone confession: Virtually impossible



 Traditional "App"   (Photo by Rama)

When Pope Benedict XVI recently invited Christians to engage in social networking “with an informed and responsible creativity,” he didn’t mean for them to confuse the chalice with the wine. 

Those who have interpreted this invitation to mean that absolution can be received via an iPhone application are immersed more in wishful thinking than in spirituality.  According to Megan Friedman of Time, this hankering for iPhone confession came about in conjunction with the marketing of Little iApps’ Confession: A Roman Catholic App.

The Little iApps website bills this app as something that is “making confession easier.”  The fact that it is “designed to be used in the confessional” somehow gets lost within the golden hues of their five-star testimonials.  One of these reviews proclaims:  “…fantastic:  thorough, easy to use, and even fun.”

Somehow “fun” may not have been the original intent of the Sacrament of Penance (Reconciliation or Confession).  Some say that Jesus himself instituted this practice, as reported in John 20:22-23.  Although the disciples were “overjoyed” at the sudden appearance of their resurrected Master, this was far from a lighthearted experience for any of them.  Nor did it seem to be a particularly “easy” one… 

According to Wikipedia, Pope John Paul II promoted a renewed emphasis upon this sacrament by citing Bible passages such as Mark 1:15, Matthew 1:21, and Romans 8:21 – all having to do with sin and redemption.  Not usually the stuff that social media is made of (at least not the redemption part)…

The misunderstandings concerning this iApp were intense enough to warrant an official response from the Vatican.  According to Reuters, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi issued this strong statement:  One cannot speak in any way of confessing via iPhone…  He then added that the actual presence of both penitent and priest “cannot be substituted by any IT application.”

Resources

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20110209/us_time/httpnewsfeedtimecom20110208smartphonesinscatholicchurchapprovesconfessionbyiphonexidrssfullnationyahoo

http://www.littleiapps.com/overview.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessional

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacrament_of_Penance_(Catholic_Church)

Copyright February 10, 2011 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved