UNITED STATES, February 2011: Theologians, psychologists and sociologists agree about the benefits — spiritual, emotional and communal — of confession. Revealing our sins and missteps to a spiritual preceptor, in writing or in person, helps alleviate guilt and its accompanying anxieties. That, in turn, leads to happier, healthier living.
A Catholic bishop in Indiana recently gave his imprimatur to a thoroughly modern take on the ancient act of confession with a thumbs up to ‘Confession: A Roman Catholic App,’ a new application for the iPhone and iPad that helps users catalogue their sins before entering a church confessional booth.
The $1.99 iTunes ‘Confession’ app leads users through a ‘personalized examination of conscience’ with ‘password protected profiles and a step-by-step guide to the sacrament.’ Little iApps developer Patrick Leinen has said he was inspired create the ‘Confession’ app by Pope Benedict XVI’s message for World Communications Day in which the pontiff endorsed the spiritual value of new media. The Vatican later said that the app is no substitute for the actual confession, only ‘a step toward penitence.’