Now an iPhone app which helps you confess

Two American brothers in the state of Indiana have come up with a novel use for modern gadgets iPad and iPhone - a step by step guide to the Roman Catholic ritual of confession.

A new application (known by its abbreviation "app") for the devices aims to help Roman Catholics who haven't been to confession for a while to keep track of their sins, one Commandment at a time.

The app, called "Confession: A Roman Catholic App", costs 1.99 US dollars, and is the brainchild of Patrick and Chip Leinen, app developers and co-founders of the company Little iApps, based in South Bend, Indiana.

While it can't grant forgiveness - you still need to see a priest for that - the app's designers see it as a way to spur Catholics back into the habit of repenting.

"It's built for people who go to confession regularly and it's also built for people who maybe have been away from the Church for a while," Patrick Leinen said.

In recent decades, American Catholics have been receiving the penitential sacrament less frequently, and many of them may not even know how it's done, believe the Leinen brothers.

"Some people get very anxious when they go into the confessional and the anxiety causes them to forget some or all of what they wanted to say, so just as some people bring a little sheet of paper in, so called cheat sheet to help them, the iPhone with the Confession APP serves a similar purpose to help people just to have a list that they can recollect themselves and they don't have to worry about forgetting anything," explained Father Daniel Scheidt, pastor of Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Mishawaka, who acted as adviser to the developers.

The text-based app takes the user through the Ten Commandments, with a slew of questions attached to each, a process known as an examination of conscience, which penitents undergo before confession.

Questions range from "Have I wished evil upon another person?" to "Have I used any method of contraception or artificial birth control in my marriage?" and users can tick a box next to each sin they've committed.

Once that's done, the app lists the user's sins and displays a written act of contrition, a prayer recited by the penitent.

From there, it walks the user through the rest of the steps of confession and even advises when to say "amen."

Religious applications for mobile devices are nothing new.

Things like daily inspirational text messages and digital compasses that point Muslims in the direction of Mecca have been around since the early years of mobile technology.

Response to the new app from the church has been cautious but positive; the Most Reverend Kevin Rhoades, bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend, gave his imprimatur to the app, essentially an acknowledgment that it doesn't conflict with Catholic teaching.

The Vatican weighed in as word of the app spread through Catholic circles.

A church spokesman, the Reverent Federico Lombardi, stressed that only a priest may hear confession.

But a believer could use a digital instrument, such as an iPhone, to prepare for confession in the same way people once did with a pen and paper, he said.

The Catholic Church is far from a novice when it comes to using new technology to reach the faithful: Catholic apps cover everything from the calendar of the liturgical year to guides for priests on celebrating the Mass.

Pope Benedict XVI has encouraged priests to get involved in at least one aspect of online ministry, whether blogs, podcasts or something else.