Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi
Posted on 02/10/2011 1:33:43 PM PST by NYer
.- The sacrament of Confession "cannot be substituted by any computer application," the Vatican said Feb. 9. The remarks by papal spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, SJ, came amid a flurry of misleading international media reports on a new application developed for Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod.
"Confession: A Roman Catholic App" helps Catholics prepare for confession by offering a “step-by-step” guide to the sacrament and a “personalized examination of conscience.”
Many media outlets wrongly reported that the application allowed Catholics to go to Confession on the phone or online.
Fr. Lombardi said the essence of the sacrament involves the intimate conversation of the believer and the priest and the presence of Jesus Christ.
"It is essential to understand well that the Sacrament of Penance requires necessarily the rapport of personal dialogue between penitent and confessor and absolution by the present confessor," he said.
"This cannot be substituted by any computer application. There needs to be emphasis put on this to avoid misunderstandings. One cannot speak in any way of 'confession by iPhone'.”
He said that the new application might have “true pastoral” uses as a “digital pastoral aid.” But, those who use it, must be aware that it is “not at all a substitute for the sacrament.”
The application was developed by Patrick Leinen, developer and co-founder of Little iApps and has been approved by Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend and by the U.S. bishops’ top doctrine official, Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM. Cap.
>>And some FReepers are tasteless & immature with their sarcastic, mocking posts.<<
It’s just another day for Catholic FReepers on FR.
My DH has both the entire Bible and the Missal on his Palm.
Hmmm. That sounds nice. I’d like to get the missal for iPhone. I have several prayer apps, divine mercy, & iRosary both for myself and the child’s version. I’ll have to check the app store! Thanks!
yes, they sure did. Even my nondenominational Protestant friend said, "hey, than can't be right! You need to do it person to person..."
Still, it does have the Imprimatur and so it's easy to understand why the media would get it wrong. Wuuudatheyknow about the Catechism?
Think it would be handy to have the Ten Commandments and an aid to the examination of conscience right there for when I'm on the subway, though.
Is that so? Are man and machine equal?
And what about Jesus? Isn't he a man as much as is God? What do we do with him while his divine self is mediating? Gad, sounds like a real dilemma.
“Are man and machine equal?”
No, and my statement did not equate man with machine. The error of a machine is that of a man. The error of man is his own.
“And what about Jesus? Isn’t he a man as much as is God? What do we do with him while his divine self is mediating? Gad, sounds like a real dilemma.”
I suggest you pray directly to Him about that. I have no dilemma regarding the nature of Christ.
Blessings.
Isn't that what Jesus was all about, to establish a New Covenant with God to replace the Old? Didn't he throw out the money changers and the other businesses that had grown up around the church?
Then Peter's church grew into a bureaucracy of its own and re-enterjected itself between God and man. The Catholic Church is now afraid technology may make is less relevant.
Jesus also condemned those who made a big deal out of praying in an effort to show their "Godliness" to others, admonishing instead that we should go into a closet, away from the sight and sound of others, to pray.
This App actually enhances the scripture.
Mock at your peril!
So will I but I am not optimistic. It is by Grace that we are saved and I am doubtful that those who are mostly concerned with the materialistic rather than the Spiritual will avail themselves to it. Epiphanies are rare.
it isn’t mocking...
God has a great sense of humor and He blessed his children with the same.
We should (and, IMHO) must share our enjoyment with one another.
“This App actually enhances the scripture.”
A book could be described as a machine, and then things get quite interesting, don’t they?
I have no experience with the App, so I can’t comment about its’ possible ‘enhancements.’ The App is a tool of man, an extension of the maker. It cannot err on its’ own, it can only replicate error (if any) instilled by the maker. If you feel it enhances your relationship with God, you are certainly free to use it, regardless the exhortations of men.
As to the earlier part of your comment, Jesus did well with a donkey on loan and little else. But then we are talking about God, aren’t we?
Blessings.
I apologize to anyone offended. That was far from my intent.
I dunno? I thought it was kind of funny, in a Blues Brothers sort of way, and too absurd to be taken seriously. Fully and unequivocally, without reservation, I apologize.
See you all next Sunday for communion.
No offense taken — that is the point :)
We can play with religion a bit and still be somewhat devout...
As I told the kids in my Confirmation class, don't EVER believe anything the media says about the Catholic Church, because those folks are, for the most part, CLUELESS!
No knowledgeable Catholic would believe you can confess using an app. An app is only good for reading through the examination of conscience questions as a preparation for going to your priest and confessing. The examination of conscience is a great way to open your mind to considering all the ways you’ve possibly sinned that you had forgotten or hadn’t thought of before. It’s a great exercise in humility.
Then you show your humility again by actually confessing your sins to another human being who has been given the power to represent Christ and absolve you of them.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a wonderful, healing (spiritually and psychologically), and restorative gift. I always feel as light as a cloud when I leave the confessional!
Check out iPieta. You will be astounded at what that app has on it. It is amazing!
No "scam" involved, unless you count the scam perpetrated by the mainstream media, which almost never seems to get a story about any aspect of Christian belief and practice right.
1,600 years the Catholics have hid the KJV Bible from the common man to read
How's that? The KJV is 400 years old. I have a perfectly serviceable copy, and it's not "hidden" from me at all; I know exactly where it is.
Paul says: absent from the body, present with the Lord. Well, Catholics would not know that verse since it's Paul.
I know it well enough not to misquote it like you just did.
So from Catholic doctrine, all the Catholic souls go to purgatory and hope for earthly prayer to save them
Nope, you got that one wrong, too. Sorry. Better luck next time. Well, Catholics would not know that verse since it's Paul. So from Catholic doctrine, all the Catholic souls go to purgatory and hope for earthly prayer to save them.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
Euthanasia
2276 Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.
2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.
Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.
2278 Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of "over-zealous" treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one's inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected.
2279 Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged.
I’m not Catholic, just an outsider viewpoint here.....
Not really, IMO. Confession isn't utilized as much as it used to be any more. You can verify this yourself if you go into a Catholic church on Saturdays, maybe around 4-4:30 (depending on when the Vigil Mass will be celebrated, Confessions are usually offered before that at most parishes) and you will probably see an empty Confessional (a little green light above a door means that Confessional has a priest in it but no one confessing their sins).
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