‘App’- Solution

Bless me, iPhone, for I have sinned.
The Sacrament of Penance, more commonly known as Confession, is the practice of acknowledging one’s sinfulness in the presence of a priest and asking for absolution.
Now, this usually takes place in an ornate wooden confessional on a Sunday afternoon, but thanks to the penitent minds at Apple Inc. you can declare your sins anywhere! In the privacy of a bathroom stall, for example.
For only $1.99 you too can spill your guts using Confession: A Roman Catholic App—without the whole scary, dark box thing. And then you can use the cell phone application to confess the fact that you just indulged in a $2.00 app, for something that is normally free.
Although the Catholic Church has sanctioned this app, it’s important to note that your eternal soul is not officially saved until you actually go to an honest-to-goodness priest.
This little app is only supposed to encourage the practice and make it much more… ummm, fun? I suppose it could be entertaining to recall last Saturday night, if you can manage to remember it.
Personally, I haven’t been to confession in a while, and although this seems like an interesting step into the digital age for the Church, it kind of seems like a trivialization of the real deal.
As a child, going through my First Holy Communion, Confession was one of those things that struck fear into my soul. I imagined an abyss behind those heavy doors and, to be honest, it made the whole experience a bit more authentic. I would hate to think that people will now begin to miss out on all the anxiety and dread that comes along with confessing their not-so-holy moments in life.
I mean, I wouldn’t want an examination of conscience from an LED screen that then proceeds to come up with sin-appropriate suggestions on how to repent. Next thing you know we’ll be buying a Rosary app and dragging beads across the screen.
Besides, my sins are between me and my God—not me and the iTunes store.
Victoria Gavia,
Copy Editor