Iphone App Mocks The Church

[MIKolbe]

[quote]When will the mockery of the Catholic Church cease? Not anytime soon it seems.

Penance – the new free iPhone application that allows users to anonymously “confess” their sins to other users, and to give “absolution,” makes a mockery not only of the Church and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but also of the Church’s structure.

By “confessing” and “absolving,” users are able to accrue “horns” or “halos.” The more notable “confessors” are ranked with titles such as “Saints” to “Bishops,” “Cardinals,” and “Holy Father/Mother of the Church.” The highest ranking users are allowed to issue week-long edicts to those below them.

The application, created by Birmingham, England-based Hasham Abbas and developed by Entropy Limited, is being made available directly through Apple’s iPhone app store.

What’s fascinating is that the very same folks who like to rail against the authority and the hierarchy of the Church seem to have no problem submitting to a false hierarchy.

By creating a virtual hierarchy and a virtual “sacrament,” they’ve made a mockery of the real one – a real Sacrament with the power to transmit Christ’s grace and forgiveness through the Church’s priests.

How ironic that, while the authentic Sacrament has fallen into disuse in some areas and is practically unavailable in some parishes, that a game mocking the Sacrament is finding folks who want to take advantage of what an anonymous online “confession” can offer.

Would that the application’s users walked into a nearby Catholic Church, entered the confessional, and took advantage of an authentic anonymous confession from a real Catholic priest. In exchange, they would receive the very real saving power of Christ, a healthy dose of grace, and some divine assistance in resisting the temptations that confront them.

Culturally and spiritually, we’ve lost touch with the reality that we are, as C.S. Lewis said, born on a battlefield.

There is a supernatural world that surrounds us. There are angels and demons. There is good, and there is evil. This is Theology 101.

God will not be mocked.

As Ephesians 6:12 says, “we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

So, if we’re living on a battlefield, let’s turn then, not to the false god of technology and false “sacraments,” but to our authentic Heavenly Father and to the very real Signs and Sacraments that he’s given to us so that we might truly get closer to Him.[/quote]

[url="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/iphone-app-mocks-the-church/"]ARTICLE HERE[/url]

[Sternhauser]

[quote name='MIkolbe' timestamp='1295382066' post='2201505']
[url="http://www.ncregister.com/blog/iphone-app-mocks-the-church/"]ARTICLE HERE[/url]
[/quote]

Ignore it, and it will go away. Talk it up, and they'll sell more copies.

~Sternhauser

Edited January 18, 2011 by Sternhauser

[ThePenciledOne]

[quote name='Sternhauser' timestamp='1295384855' post='2201521']
Ignore it, and it will go away. Talk it up, and they'll sell more copies.

~Sternhauser
[/quote]

[MIKolbe]

awww... you guys have pet ostricheseses, dontcha?

[Sternhauser]

[quote name='MIkolbe' timestamp='1295385212' post='2201528']
awww... you guys have pet ostricheseses, dontcha?
[/quote]

No, no ostriches. Nor do I have pet eels, slimy and stirring up the mud, or pet boars, rolling and rooting around in the dirt.

~Sternhauser

Edited January 18, 2011 by Sternhauser

[MIKolbe]

Gophers???? how 'bout gophers?

[MithLuin]

Mockeries of the Church will exist as long as the Church is something that confounds people. It is sad, but fairly inevitable. Maybe it will remind someone of the real deal? One could hope...

[Sternhauser]

[quote name='MIkolbe' timestamp='1295385580' post='2201531']
Gophers???? how 'bout gophers?
[/quote]

Gophers are all right.

~Sternhauser

[Winchester]

[quote name='Sternhauser' timestamp='1295384855' post='2201521']
Ignore it, and it will go away. Talk it up, and they'll sell more copies.

~Sternhauser
[/quote]
Problem, pragmatism?

[Sternhauser]

[quote name='Winchester' timestamp='1295389810' post='2201557']
Problem, pragmatism?
[/quote]

Please rephrase in the form of a question.

~Sternhauser

[Ed Normile]

This article was written by a screwball, he claims that the Sacrament " has fallen into disuse in some areas and is practically unavailable in some parishes" where does he go to mass? He later adds that "[b]Would that the application’s users walked into a nearby Catholic Church, entered the confessional, and took advantage of an authentic anonymous confession from a real Catholic priest. In exchange, they would receive the very real saving power of Christ, a healthy dose of grace, and some divine assistance in resisting the temptations that confront them[/b]." is he trying to say that actual catholics use this game for a replacement of the actual Sacrament? This is just an attention getter for his blog, demonstrably an ill conceived article seemingly written by a non catholic, which is odd coming from where its published.

I am sure Apple is behind this app 100% as even if it fails it will garner them tons of publicity. The game looks like an rpg interface, choose your charachter, its strength and magical abilities and go out and conquer the world or save the fair maiden. I think its pretty fair to state they knew that catholics as a whole would not have the fortitude to raise much more than a mild response, maybe something akin to " hey, no fair guys ", face it we can not even decide whether or not communion on the hand should be allowed would it not be a vanity then to think we could actually rally against a giant like Apple which controls a whopping 3% of the worlds PC operating Systems!.

ed

[BG45]

[quote name='Ed Normile' timestamp='1295398180' post='2201594']
This article was written by a screwball, he claims that the Sacrament " has fallen into disuse in some areas and is practically unavailable in some parishes" where does he go to mass? He later adds that "
[/quote]

I've always been fortunate enough to be in a parish with an hour a week plus appointments for Confession; however I remember threads here on PM where members of the Pham have said some of their parishes don't offer the sacrament or only do for half an hour a week at most...

[MithLuin]

It's not so much that it's only an hour a week, but that that hour is always on Sat. afternoon. While I'm sure that works for some....it isn't great for everyone. The 'by appointment' part takes real effort on the part of both the penitent and the priest, and people have had varying success with that.

It is certainly true that the sacrament has fallen by the wayside. People used to receive it regularly; now many Catholics seldom go. Kinda like how the Eucharist used to be, I guess. Anyway, it [i]is[/i] being neglected (though obviously not everywhere nor by everyone).

I imagine this...app...is intended for former Catholics more than practicing Catholics. Someone who would recognize/appreciate the parallels, but not take the religion seriously.

[Cherie]

No matter how you feel about it, I definitely think it at least warrants a letter to Apple telling them you are offended by this app.

Evil prevails when good people do nothing. Sure you don't want to flip out about it and give it attention it doesn't deserve. But this is blasphemy, people. Don't desensitize yourself about it. Do what you can, even if that means writing a little e-mail. Will it change anything? Maybe not, but at least you've done your part for God's honor and glory.

[Vincent Vega]

From the author's twitter:
[quote]@johnteall in a way we feed off each other. they [the National Catholic Register] benefit from something to be offended about and i benefit from their offense.
[/quote]

But no, yeah, let's keep talking about it.