Catholic Church OK New Confession App for iPhone<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Well, no, that\u2019s an extremely misleading headline and lede.<\/strong> The \u201cCatholic Church\u201d has not approved the app; Bishop Kevin Rhoades, of the Diocese of Fort Wayne in Indiana, has given his imprimatur<\/em>, though. The app, which was designed by two priests, Father Thomas Weinandy of the USCCB, and Father Dan Scheidt, a pastor from Mishawaka, Indiana.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cpersonalized examination of conscience for each user\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cOur desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology,\u201d said Patrick Leinen of the three-man company Little iApps, based in South Bend, Indiana.<\/p>\n \u201cTaking to heart Pope Benedict XVI\u2019s message from last years\u2019 World Communications Address, our goal with this project is to offer a digital application that is truly \u2018new media at the service of the word.\u201d<\/p>\n The app is not designed to replace going to confession<\/em> but to help Catholics through the act, which generally involves admitting sins to a priest in a confessional booth. Catholics still must go to a priest for absolution.<\/p>\n Leinen said the app has already aided one man in returning to the sacrament after 20 years.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n On the surface it sure does seem pretty cool<\/strong>, and hey, I\u2019m with the Pope \u2013 interactive and alternative media and gadgetry, when it can be used to teach, evangelize and serve \u2013 it\u2019s great.<\/p>\n But this one worries me a little. I like the idea of someone being able to access information about confession, and even that users can be guided through an examination of conscience and encouraged to avail themselves of the sacrament.<\/p>\n My fear, though is that rather than encourage people into the confessional, the app will make it seem unnecessary . Regardless of how many times the app-writers insist that the thing is not meant to \u201creplace\u201d confession, our natures tend to choose the path of least resistance. It is not inconceivable (in fact, it is quite conceivable<\/em>) that for a Catholic who has been away from confession for a while \u2014 one who perhaps has forgotten the powerful psychological and spiritual cleansing effect of speaking one\u2019s sins aloud, or has never understood the value of the graces the sacrament imparts \u2014 the app may very well end up feeling like the convenient \u201cmiddle ground\u201d between not going to confession or going with reluctance.<\/p>\n For Catholics who are poorly catechized, poorly trained in the faith, this app seems to me to be one of those irresistible shiny objects that, when grabbed, proves to be a double-edged sword.<\/p>\n Not trusting my own instincts, I asked a couple of young men<\/strong> \u2014 both techno-crazed young Catholics neither of whom are \u201cdevout\u201d or have been to confession in a couple of years \u2014 what they thought of the app, and whether my concerns were baseless. One liked the idea of an app that could help you get a real sense of where you\u2019re failing but said he would never use the app precisely because of the potential for self-deception: \u201cthe temptation to call it a done deal and not bother going to confession would be huge.\u201d The app could effectively put the last nail in the confession coffin, he thought.<\/p>\n The second fellow first asked me if the church had approved it, and when I told him a bishop had, thought about it for a minute and decided that he disliked the whole idea of the app. \u201cI haven\u2019t been to confession since I was a kid,\u201d he said. \u201cif I used the app and took an inventory of myself like that, it might scare me away completely.\u201d<\/p>\n Or, of course, it might put the force and depths<\/strong> of your failures before you and inspire you to seek out the sacrament. Sigh. Clearly, I am torn.<\/p>\n As the King said, \u201cis a puzzlement.\u201d What do you think?<\/p>\n Leave a comment or answer my poll question at this link until I figure out how to embed it: UPDATE I: Father Z has<\/strong> a very good examination of the app, including pictures<\/strong><\/a>. He says:<\/p>\n \nAll in all, it is useful. But there are flaws.<\/p>\n In a next version, I think the very first thing that the user should see is a message that this is NOT a substitute for confession. This is only a tool to help make a good confession. [\u2026] The app is good, but needs some additions in order to be very good.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Go check it out!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n UPDATE II: Deacon Greg<\/strong> has links to more writers covering this<\/strong><\/a>, and he\u2019s not even being curmudgeonly about the fact that he actually wrote about this ten days ago<\/strong><\/a>. So he was ahead of the curve!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gabriel Malor sent this my way, with the note: \u201cvery cool!\u201d Catholic Church OK New Confession App for iPhone. 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. Well, no, that\u2019s an extremely misleading headline and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[293,4826,4837,530],"class_list":["post-25339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alternate-media","tag-benedict-xvi","tag-confession","tag-sacrament"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/wp.patheos.com\/community\/sites\/7\/2011\/02\/iphone-300x201.jpg\")
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\n\tDo you like the Confession App idea?<\/strong><\/a>survey software<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n