If only there were an iPhone or iPad app that could forgive sins. You'd confess particular misdeeds from drop down menus — tap, tap, tap — and then tab over and hit the "Forgive me?" button. A little blue bar would go across as sins were expunged one by one. Then, a screen would come up that said, "You are forgiven."
This is what people probably thought about when Little iApps, an Indiana-based app development company, introduced their first iPhone and iPad app: "Confession: A Roman Catholic App," which sells for $1.99 at the iTunes Store.
The media attention was somewhat tongue-in-cheek: Reuters' story had the headline, "Bless me iPhone for I have sinned." The New York Daily News proclaimed it the "Holy App!" Switched.com called it "Confessions On the Go." The Washington Post headline was "Bless me, Father, for I have an iPhone."
There was enough misunderstanding and jokes about the app (short for "application," the software programs that work on cell phones and other devices), that the Vatican had to clarify about it in an article on Catholic News Service. "It's essential to understand that the sacrament of penance requires a personal dialogue between the penitent and the confessor, and absolution by the confessor who is present," said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman. "This is something that cannot be replaced by any application. One cannot speak of a 'confession via iPhone.'"
So is the "Confession" app something serious?
Vince LaBarbera, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana confirmed that Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades gave the app an imprimatur — his official stamp of approval. The Little iApps website touts their app as the first to ever receive such an endorsement.
It began when a group of Catholic friends in Indiana decided to make some sort of Catholic app in response to a call from Pope Benedict XVI for Catholics to use "new media at the service of the Word." Pope Benedict said, "In this way the Word can traverse the many crossroads created by the intersection of all the different 'highways' that form 'cyberspace,' and show that God has his rightful place in every age, including our own."
The friends, Ryan Kreager, 28, and Chip and Patrick Leinen, formed Little iApps and created "Confession" with the help of two Catholic priests, Rev. Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM, executive director of the Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and Rev. Dan Scheidt, pastor of Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mishawaka, Ind.
Father Scheidt knew Kreager and his friends from the local Catholic youth group. He said he helped provide the source text for the "Confession" app from a standard Catholic "examination of conscience" that was based on the Ten Commandments.
Catholics sometimes will use a printed examination of conscience as a tool to help them prepare for confession or the sacrament of reconciliation.
"Any examination of conscience is a diagnostic tool. When a person goes to a doctor, the doctor goes through a standard protocol," Father Scheidt said. "It is the same with any examination of conscience."
Colleen E. Gudreau, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Salt Lake City explained: "Catholics believe that we disrupt our relationship with God and hurt our relationships with each other when we freely choose to act in a way that is displeasing to God or fail to act in a way that is pleasing to God. The sacrament of reconciliation allows these relationships to be restored. The new application is merely a modern tool that can help facilitate preparation for the sacrament, especially the 'examination of conscience,' i.e., recalling our sinful thoughts and actions for which we are seeking God's forgiveness."
Here is how the "Confession" app works: A person will enter information about his or her self — age, sex, and the like. The app then customizes an examination of conscience for that person.
Kreager said, "A 10-year-old girl will get different questions than a 30-year-old man."
In the app's "Examination of Conscience" section, questions might be, "Do I not give God time every day in prayer?" "Do I not seek to love Him with my whole heart?" "Have I been involved with superstitious practices or have I been involved with the occult?" "Do I not seek to surrender myself to God's Word as taught by the Church?" and "Have I ever received Communion in a state of mortal sin?"
A youngster might get questions like "Have I not prayed with my parents?" or "Have I been moody and rebellious about praying and going to church on Sunday?"
Other features in the app include:
- Password protected accounts
- Ability to add unlisted sins
- Keep track of last confession
- Choose from seven different acts of contrition
- Lists and text of traditional Acts of Contrition and prayers
And not a single button to forgive sins.
"The goal is not to replace confession, but to be a way to invite people to a real personal encounter in the real sacrament of confession," Father Scheidt said. He said the app is like a piece of paper or a cheat sheet to help people remember how the sacrament of reconciliation works and to help them remember their sins to confess.
One reviewer on iTunes wrote, "The biggest problem I have in confession is remembering everything that I need to say because I tend to get so nervous. … This will be a fantastic 'guide' to get me through without a lot of awkward silence when I'm normally trying to think of things I need to say."
Father Scheidt thinks the app could also be useful for people who are not Catholics. He said it is a good diagnostic tool to help evaluate where anybody is in the moral life. He also said it will clarify what confession means to Catholics. "Some people think it is primarily about guilt in the dark confessional filled with secrets," he said. "Now anyone can download this app and see what takes place in confession."
Kreager and his friends continue to work on the app and are creating an Android version and getting it in other languages such as Spanish. A portion of proceeds will benefit several Catholic charities, but he thinks the greatest benefit is the attention it is bringing to the sacrament of reconciliation.
Kreager also said he is humbled by the attention the app has received. "We are just three guys in the middle of Indiana. We are just a few Catholic geeks who wanted to put something together that will be useful."
e-mail: mdegroote@desnews.com
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