No time to visit church? Confess via iPhone

LONDON, UK: Users of iPhone can now perform contrition and other religious rituals without visiting church, thanks to a new online application.

"Confession: A Roman Catholic App", created by a US-based company called Little iApps, is designed for Apple devices such as iPhone, iPad and iPod, the Telegraph reported.

The application costs $1.99 in Apple's iTunes store.

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It offers password protected customised profiles, a guide to performing the sacrament as well as a list of acts of contrition.

"Individuals who have been away from the sacrament for some time will find Confession: A Roman Catholic App to be a useful and inviting tool," its developer, Patrick Leinen, was quoted as saying.

He said the application has received the imprimatur from Bishop Kevin Rhoades of the Fort Wayne- Indian-based diocese, the first programme to receive the stamp of the church.

Leinen said he was inspired in developing the application by Pope Benedict XVI's call for using new media for good purposes.

"Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology," Leinen said in a press release on his littleapps.com website.

"Taking to heart Pope Benedict XVI's message from last year's World Communications Address, our goal with this project is to offer a digital application that is truly 'new media at the service of the Word'," he said.