Confession for iPhone: Another Step Away from the Church?

No time to hit the confessional after a Saturday night of carousing? No need! The Catholic Church has sanctioned a confession app for iPhone! You don't even have to locate your rosary before thumbing in impure thoughts and deeds for forgiveness.

There have been online confessionals for years that give Catholics too busy to visit their parish priests a chance at salvation. One could pretend their cubicle was a confessional and rid themselves of the guilt of sin online between snarky tweets. Now your car can serve the same purpose! Imagine a parking lot hit-and-run in which you can immediately absolve yourself of guilt without even leaving a note on the other car. Imagine running a stoplight and getting instant forgiveness for the misdeed!

According to The National Catholic Register, "Confession" by Little I Apps has been approved for use by the devout to confess sins for only $1.99. (Available on iTunes) Pope Benedict XVI has been quoted as saying this type of media, "if used wisely, can contribute to the satisfaction of the desire for meaning, truth and unity which remain the most profound aspirations of each human being."

Those of us who believe that worship should be taken more seriously than a video game may have a hard time swallowing the idea that the personalized, password-protected app could be beneficial to our souls.

Still, the idea of instant redemption anytime, anywhere does have appeal to some, even if it means distancing oneself from the ever-dwindling congregation.

Personally, I will not use this app nor encourage others to use it as it defeats the purpose of the church, which in my opinion is to bring people together to strengthen community ties and foster a feeling of unity through worship. When it becomes too easy to worship, it becomes an afterthought, and when religion becomes an afterthought, its ideals are often forsaken as well.

The traditions of the Catholic Church are its strength and what sets it apart from other religions. Catholic rituals inspire and educate the next generation of the faithful. When you take away something as essential to Catholicism as confession, you remove a tradition that has almost come to define the faith.

My fear for this app is that non-Catholics will look upon it as a joke and use it to amuse their friends, much like a video game or a social media application.

If it were to be used properly by those who simply cannot make it to confession, it would be a valuable tool, but it's too easy to misuse.

So type your confession into your phone in heavy traffic, at McDonald's drive through or while waiting to drop off your dry cleaning if it gives you peace of mind; me, I prefer guidance for absolution.

One word of caution: I'm sure The Pontiff would not recommend texting your confession while actually driving down the road. You may find yourself finishing the text in purgatory!