If Pell would just STFU the Pope probably wouldn’t even remember we existed, and we could get on with practising Catholicism like the skallywags and ne’re-do-wells we are.

It smacks of a strategy to leverage techne in the service of insitutional renewal.

I’ve written a little on this and the comparison of the app to the Jesuit Spiritual Exercises over at the Religital blog:

http://www.religital.com/iconfess-this-is-not-a-spiritual-exercise/

How the hell do you figure that? If you are contracting an STD, you are most likely having sex outside of marriage. Sooo hey, if you’re committing sin, whats one more?

My question: if unprotected sex is a sin because you are supposedly committing premeditated murder, does the catholic church approve of ejaculating all over your partner’s face? What if your partner is starving? Surely then it’s a charitable action.

Catho-baiting is the bestest sport.

As long as you insist you were making a fair attempt at procreation. They’re very forgiving.

“Catho-baiting is the bestest sport.”

Puhleeese. You obviously haven’t checked out this thread.

it does not and can not take the place of confessing before a validly ordained Roman Catholic priest in a Confessional, in person, either face to face, or behind the screen. Why? Because the Congregation on Divine Worship and the Sacraments has long ruled that Confessions by electronic media are invalid and that ABSOLUTION BY THE PRIEST must be given in person because the Seal of the Confessional must be Protected and for the Sacrament to be valid there has to be both the matter and the form which means THE PRIEST.

Yes it opposes condom use – as sex should be between a married couple and they should welcome the gift of a child. Life is scared etc etc. That is how they see it. By ‘they’ I mean the official doctrine. There are factions within the church that want it changed.

It isn’t premeditated murder, and I am pretty sure the rest is just trolling so.

Oh and just recently they loosened their opposition to them in some circumstances: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/the-pope/8148899/Pope-approves-use-of-condoms-in-fight-against-Aids.html

Why? You stick around for 2000 years and you will have some nice stuff too.

I guess you found the Uffizi and Doge’s Palace as revolting?

@toyg – because the media sucks. It assumes everyone is an idiot and dumbs the news down the tabloid level. No one wants to read an in depth article on the origins of the unrest in Egypt. They want big, sensational headlines, sports, and what the pretty people are doing.

re: Africa

Now I want to say at the start, I support condom use for whatever. Especially water balloons. But their position isn’t so crazy when you look at it.

I wrote a big long letter to a friend one time about this. It was a lively discussion. Oh I found it…. much too long and a lot of cussing…

Anyway – people look at this through western eyes and Africa is not a western country. Their culture is different. Rape and abundant and monogamy is rare – hence the rampant AIDs. Others are teaching condom use – it just isn’t working that well.

So instead of trying to band-aid the symptom, they are going after the problem – trying to create a paradigm shift where monogamy is valued and rape is not and abstinence is practiced.

Neither method is working that well, but there are pockets in both camps that have shown improvement. I don’t know the solution, but I don’t think it will change until the people of Africa all decide spreading AIDs is bad and does something about it.

It’s amusing to imagine confessing by iPhone, sure, but this is not that. And after the 2343948394th joke article about “just submit your sins online!”, I have to start saying “…You do know that isn’t true, right?”

(I’m a lapsed Catholic, but I still have an inner Catholicism nerd who jumps out whenever misconceptions about Catholic doctrine pop up. It’s funny because it’s not “OMG BLASPHEMY”, but “Get your blasphemy right, jeez.”)

Oh wait! They are on the other side of the screen. Oh well.

1) The Church is one of the few entities that kept up things like literacy and using books for other things besides toilet paper during the Dark Ages.

2) The fancy paintings and architecture are supposed to be in Glory to God. If you believed in a deity, you might want to make his house bad ass as well. From a purely artistic standpoint, it would be a tragedy if one were to get rid of the art.

3) With wealth they are able to do more good throughout the world (missionaries, homeless shelters, hospitals, etc)

All the nifty gorgeousness of ecclesiastical art and its awe-inspiring cultural influence seems to have come from centuries past. Whenever a sect tries to modernize its approach, either directly or indirectly (and since this app has received a bishop’s imprimatur, it ain’t exactly unofficial), it makes it even harder for me to take them seriously.

From the linked article:

For the 45th World Communications Day address, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized that new 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.”

Are they in danger of losing all their woo in favor of technological relevance? I always felt that the very obsolescence of religion held most of its appeal to the masses. Mystery, timelessness, eternal wisdom and salvation.

Heck, at least the pre-Vatican II hucksterism used real gilding.

Marry me.

The only interesting thing about this story is the fact that so many people find it interesting.

In Australia the Priest absolves the whole congregation in one go. It’s very efficient. The Pope is quite annoyed about it, apparently its only supposed to be done in emergencies, like when your ship is sinking.

Yay Australia.

Life does imitate art!

I love being a recovering catholic…