Vatican Bans iOS Confessional App
Despite all the hype yesterday that a lowly priest had approved the new confessional app hitting the app store, the truth has now found a way of revealing itself. According to today’s Daily Mail, a spokesman for the Vacitan, Federico Lombardi said: ‘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’. ‘I must stress to avoid all ambiguity, under no circumstance is it possible to "confess by iPhone".’
The Vatican has warned that an app can never replace visiting a priest.
Designed to be used in the confessional, this app is described in the press literature as ‘the perfect aid for every penitent. With a personalized examination of conscience for each user, password protected profiles, and a step-by-step guide to the sacrament, this app invites Catholics to prayerfully prepare for and participate in the Rite of Penance. Individuals who have been away from the sacrament for some time will find Confession: A Roman Catholic App to be a useful and inviting tool’.
Well, obviously the Vacitan doesn’t see it like that and would much prefer you to confess your sins in person, what do you think, does this app take things too far?
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]
12 Comments
grub
“The Vatican has warned that an app can never replace visiting a priest.”
The priests need their daily visits from the altar boys.
Hakari Tenshou
Looks like this app could cut down on child molestation, the Vatican can’t have that!
dmt
‘ The Vatican has warned that an app can never replace visiting a priest. ‘
Oh, I don’t know. An app is much easier on the ass.
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sifl
It’s spelled “Vatican” FYI.
M N
The app _prepares_ a person for confession. E.g., generate a list of sins, help you reflect on those sins, etc. The priest who validated the app said that it was just as good as existing books or pamphlets to help someone prepare for confession.
The app does not let you confess your sins. In the Catholic Church, you must confess to a priest. The Vatican is just stating that.
The only thing to see here is that reporters misdescribed the app as the “confession app” not as the “confession preparation app” and the Vatican felt it needed to release something to clarify the situation.
M___ N___
(recipient of 15 yrs. of Catholic education)
doofus
Confessing to a priest over the iPhone just wouldn’t have the same effect for the movies.
Greg Laden
Hey, I’m the LAST person to defend the Vatican (or one of its priests) or, for that matter, an iPhone app,but both this story and the Vatican’s specific response are great examples of how our species is nowhere near as brainy as claimed. As noted above, the app is not instead of confessing in a confessional to an authorized priest. Therefore, the Vatican should have nothing to say about it and this story should never have been written.
JJN
I always knew Steve Jobs thought he was God.
razor
miért nem.
Stevejobs
Incoming, at Apple’s Store! “Priest visitation schedule app”. Schedule visits to priest next to you … Vatican’s Approved seal 😉
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