Vatican: You Cannot Confess by iPhone

Penance requires a 'personal dialogue between penitents, their confessor'
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 9, 2011 2:04 PM CST
Vatican: You Cannot Confess by iPhone
Pope Benedict XVI waves to faithful after hearing confessions during a penitential celebration in St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican.   (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

So much for instant absolution: The Vatican today emphatically stressed that Catholics cannot confess by iPhone, one day after news of the "Confession: A Roman Catholic App" emerged, reports the AFP. "It is essential to understand that the rites of penance require a personal dialogue between penitents and their confessor. It cannot be replaced by a computer application," said a Vatican spokesman. Should that not be clear enough: "I must stress to avoid all ambiguity, under no circumstance is it possible to 'confess by iPhone'."

It's worth noting, however, that the company that created it did explain that the app—approved for use by Catholics by an Indiana bishop—walks users through the process of confessing and offers a "personalized examination of conscience," but did not say that it replaced the confessing-to-a-priest part. Click for more.
(More Vatican stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X