Church Approves 'Confession' App for iPhone

[LittleSoldier]

It’s from Fox News but yeah the headline threw me off too. That’s the reason I posted in post# 2 but people don’t get my warped sense of humor.

I do but that’s only because I have a warped (and very American) sense of humor, too.

 

[Alex246]

Whoops, sorry. I did a search, but I guess I still haven’t learned to do it well

 

[LittleSoldier]

Whoops, sorry. I did a search, but I guess I still haven’t learned to do it well

Please don’t feel like you need to apologize. Many times there are threads on the same news story going on in different forums. The same thing happened to me today. You didn’t do anything wrong.

 

[canadianguy1143]

I wonder if it will list artificial birth control as a sin for married couples?

 

[baylee]

It is a little warped… which must be why I get you half the time…

I think this is great… Funny thing, I was going to grab a pamphelet at church about confession, and MAKING A GOOD ONE… and I keep forgetting,

Now I can download for $1.99, which is basically some extra Cash for the church!!! LOVE IT.

I also downloaded a bible, with a great search feature. It also lists : a ton of prayers, and such. When someone here mentions something I’m not familiar with (way too often), I can scoop up my ipad and I’m reading about it in a few seconds… i LOVE THAT!

Would love other aps that people use from a Christian context!!!

*Does *the money go to the church? I actually hope not.

 

[CatholicBoy1957]

An iPhone app aimed at helping Catholics through confession and encouraging lapsed followers back to the faith has been sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the United States.

“Confession: A Roman Catholic app” is thought to be the first to be approved by a church authority. It walks Catholics through the sacrament and contains what the company behind the program describes as a “personalized examination of conscience for each user.”

“Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology,” said Patrick Leinen of the three-man company Little iApps, based in South Bend, Indiana.

Read more: foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/08/church-approves-confession-app-iphone/#ixzz1DTnW58n7

**My list isn’t long enough to use a computer. **

 

[Myqyl]

I’m very heartened to see the Church embrace technology. This will be a blessing for many.

My only question is how long till we get an Android version?

God bless

 

[LCMS_No_More]

For $1.99 I’ll try it out. Sometimes I can get distracted before confession and I have found those little examination of Conscience cards really help, but sometimes I don’t have one.

The only down side is it could be scandalous in that people may think I’m checking messages or e-mails when in fact i’m using my phone to assist me before the sacrament.

I once was praying in Church with headphones on from my I-Pod listening to Gregorian chant and an old timer friend was annoyed because he thought I was listening to secular music. Totally understandable. I never did it again.

I’ve gone to confession with my PDA (when I had one) and would use it to list my sins so I wouldn’t forget. I loved the symbolism of being able to press “DELETE” on the PDA as I received absolution. The absolution was doing to my soul what my pressing delete did to my list of sins.

 

[stanmaxkolbe]

Whoops, sorry. I did a search, but I guess I still haven’t learned to do it well

I posted a duplicate thread in World News this morning.

 

[manygift1spirit]

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf has posted a reasonably comprehensive review at WDTPRS.

Caveat: I have not used the app…yet…although my wife has bought it so I will check it out soon

“Useful but Flawed” was his summary. I think his criticisms, if warranted, are very very important and worth noting.

One good piece of news: one of the developers has commented on that post, thanking for the review and promising to take into account Fr.'s suggestions in future upgrades.

My individual concern was that there should be a notification to do one’s penance that comes up at the end, and that not only should the selections made in the past confession be blanked, but its memory itself should be wiped CIA-level clean (perhaps it is, but there is no indication of this that I saw).

 

[AcolyteLector]

This BBC News web article appears to inaccurately characterize the Diocese of Fort Wayne’s *imprimatur *as speaking for the Holy See in the use of this iPhone app to aid parishioners in the Sacrament of Confession.

The article later appears to contradict its own headline by noting that Church leaders in Britain have yet to review the app before giving it their blessing.

The article contrasts the new app in relation to the pontiff’s recent statements on the use of digital technology for spreading and learning the Word of God.

bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12391129

Thank you! Its great to have a little clarity for this ridiculous mini-scandal.

In addition, I’ll add that–as anyone knows who has examined the Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat statements–this does not ensure that the ecclesiastical authority personally agrees with or endorses the statements herein, only that they are not in conflict with Church teaching.–which is not too difficult to accomplish.

 

[jpbgrad98]

The great thing about apps on the iPhone and iPad is that they can get updated and made to be better. If there are flaws in the current version, and if the developer takes it seriously, which I hope they do with this app, it can only get better. I think this is a great way to prepare for reconciliation, and I also like the “erasing of the sins” aspect after being absolved of sin by my priest.

I know in my parish, which is comprised of mostly older people, some may find it to be offensive. I think taking time to explain to them that this is akin to when people would write down their sins on paper or other preparations years ago, they may understand. Besides, just because they are older, doesn’t mean they won’t want to try it out!

As we move farther and faster to an all digital, all connected world, this seems like a natural step. It’s good to see that we as Catholics can maintain our traditions in this transitioning world, while not sacrificing it’s integrity.

 

[Dale_M]

I wonder if it will list artificial birth control as a sin for married couples?

Yes, it does.

Questions range from “Have I wished evil upon another person?” to “Have I used any method of contraception or artificial birth control in my marriage?” and users can check a box next to each sin they’ve committed.

news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110209/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_confessions_on_the_ipad

The questions seem to be tailored according to age and gender:

For instance, if you sign in as a 15-year-old girl and look under the Sixth Commandment, one of the questions is: “Do I not treat my body or other people’s bodies with purity and respect?” If you sign in as a 33-year-old married man, that commandment offers this query: “Have I been guilty of masturbation?”

Children are asked if they pout or use bad language. Teenagers are asked if they are a tattletale or bully. Women are asked if they’ve had an abortion or encouraged anyone to have an abortion and if they’re chaste. Men are asked about the latter two, as well.

nytimes.com/2011/02/09/opinion/09dowd.html?src=me&ref=general

 

[Sarahforgiven]

I am a candidate & have found my rosary & divine office apps to be most helpful. I am praying the scriptural rosary frequently & learning to use the liturgy of the hours. I have not made my first confession yet, but think an app could be useful in preparing.
I believe this could be a good app.

 

[kepha1]

*February 8, 2011
Catholic League president Bill Donohue comments on how Internet sites have characterized last week’s announcement that a Confession application is now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users:

“Confession: A Roman Catholic App” was developed by Little iApps to prepare Catholics for Confession. Specifically, the application guides Catholics through an examination of conscience, steering them through a series of questions that tap into issues addressed by the Ten Commandments. It received an imprimatur from Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

Patrick Leinen, the developer of Little iApps, cannot be faulted for the way some are characterizing this program. This application was never designed as a substitute for Confession: on the contrary, it makes it clear that only absolution by a priest in the confessional constitutes the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Even though most Internet stories mention this, many of the headlines are misleading. Here are some of them:

 

[didymus]

It’s from Fox News but yeah the headline threw me off too. That’s the reason I posted in post# 2 but people don’t get my warped sense of humor.

Well, what can you expect from Fox? The rest of the media has been just as bad misreporting about this app.

The inventor (programmer?) wrote to Fr Z’s blog saying he will revise it to make clear that it’s an aid to confession, not a substitute.

 

[manygift1spirit]

Look out below. Maureen Dowd opines in. Charity demands that I refrain from any commentary. Pride predicts I will soon anyway.

 

[beckers]

I would love it if i had an iphone and could get this app. Right now i do it the old fashion way. I write it in my journal and take it in with me. It helps me focus and not forget my sins (Of course i tear that page out and destory it). Would love something that could help me with a deeper examination of conscience

My favorite part about father z’s review is

“An alert commentator, below, reported that you cannot set up a profile as a female and chose “Priest” as your vocation.”

 

[Dale_M]

My favorite part about father z’s review is

“An alert commentator, below, reported that you cannot set up a profile as a female and chose “Priest” as your vocation.”

Maureen Dowd tried that as well. She was disappointed.

 

[beckers]

Maureen Dowd tried that as well. She was disappointed.

her article had a lot of infomation from father z’s review…i wonder if she copied and pasted or reworked infomation from the website?

I do like how one of the designers read father z’s site and commented on how they are going to change a few things with people’s feedback.