Vatican Nixes iPhone Confession

Catholics cannot confess via iPhone and technology is not a
substitute for being present when admitting sins to a priest, the Vatican
spokesman said on Wednesday.

The statement by Father Federico Lombardi follows the launch of an iPhone
application aimed at helping Catholics through confession sanctioned by the
Catholic Church in the United States.

“One cannot speak in any way of confessing via iPhone,” Lombardi said on
Wednesday, adding that confession required the presence of the penitent and the
priest.

“This cannot be substituted by any IT application,” Lombardi added.

Confession: A Roman Catholic app, thought to be the first to be approved by a
church authority, 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 U.S. suggested
confession would now be possible via iPhone. See Chick's THE MAD MACHINE.