Catholic Church approves iPhone virtual confession app

Confession
Relieve your Catholic guilt by confessing on the go

The Catholic Church is edging further into the 21st century after giving a nod of approval to an iPhone app which guides its followers through confessing their sins.

Confession: A Roman Catholic App is designed to help users understand their earthly sins and offers a personal conscience profile based on their age, sex, job and marital status.

The app, which costs £1.19, is particularly aimed at those who've not confessed to a priest in a while and hopes to prepare them to once again enter the box again.

When partaking in the virtual confession, believers can choose from a list of sins or add their own, while choosing from seven different acts of contrition. More importantly it supports the iPhone's Retina Display.

Vatican approved

A spokesperson from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales told BBC News the app was a "useful tool to help people prepare for the Sacrament of Reconciliation".

"The Church believes in embracing new technology and this creative app will hopefully help people to make a good confession."

It is thought to be the first time the church has approved an app, which is part of the Pope's drive for catholics to "make good use of their presence in the digital world."

Whatever future-thinking concepts might be next? Approval for contraception? Embracing same sex relationships? The sky's the limit.

Chris Smith

A technology journalist, writer and videographer of many magazines and websites including T3, Gadget Magazine and TechRadar.com. He specializes in applications for smartphones, tablets and handheld devices, with bylines also at The Guardian, WIRED, Trusted Reviews and Wareable. Chris is also the podcast host for The Liverpool Way. As well as tech and football, Chris is a pop-punk fan and enjoys the art of wrasslin'.