By Graham K. Rogers

Despite being a country which is usually recognised as Buddhist, with a large population of Muslims, mainly in the south, there are a considerable number of Catholics and other Christians in Thailand. A number of my students past and present are members of Catholic families and there are several churches in the capital (Bangkok) and elsewhere, like Rachaburi (although Rachaburi Cathedral is located in Samut Songkhram province).

[This review was first put out on 9 February 2011 on my old site, AMITIAE, when I first came across the app. As the app has now been updated (see below) I am now reposting this original comment.]

Background

As I left the university that day he was on his way in to play football and we chatted. One of the first things he asked me was, "Does it work?" and some of the thoughts I had been having came to the fore. While I am not a practising Christian (for several years now) the student and I have discussed some of the philosophical ideas, mainly as he wants to improve his English. My reply to his question was that I did not need it, "I am pure as the driven snow" which we both knew was a lie, but elicited some explanations. First on the idea of "driven snow" and its relation to purity.

One of the concerns I had when I first saw the app was the idea of confession on the go; a sort of update to the Medieval practices of selling Indulgences, so wonderfully parodied by Chaucer in The Canterbury Tales. I am afraid it is works like that and the obscene practices they highlight, as well as historical influences that diminished my faith to zero. For a modern person, the idea of burning a person to death because they believe in a different god is wrong. One notes, too, that most abuses in the name of religion were carried out by men. Women are not permitted to take positions of authority in most religions.

He did not know Chaucer, but had heard of the Canterbury Tales and I explained a little more about the Pardoner: insurance for future sins, I suggested; although I did have to explain about the Seven Deadly Sins. By the time I got to Gluttony, Envy and Lust he had the picture. We parted with a laugh as we usually do (the sun was still hot too). He went to play football, I went to buy bread.

The conversation stuck in my head most of the afternoon and once home, I bought the app (to salve my conscience?) and checked some of the rubric available on the page in the iTunes store. Before the download began I was pleased to see the unequivocal comment that this app was not -- could never be -- a substitute for absolution in person, and that there was a ban on confession by electronic means. I may not worry for myself, but do care about my students and friends. I decided to download the iPad version, which was the same $1.99 as the installation for the iPhone. It would be easier on the eyes, I expected.

The Confession App

I added a couple of sins in the Examination panel plus a question of my own. There was no obvious feedback at this stage. Switching to the Confession panel I was given the correct first instruction, followed by "Father it has been 62 years since my last confession." As I was born in 1950 and still claim to be 50-ish, this error was not welcome. Pressing Next, brought me to my sin and my question. I checked the boxes as confirmation that this was my confession and touched Next. My Act of Contrition appeared: soothing words with a prayer. What followed would make obvious sense to a Catholic who had experienced confession, but to someone like me made the process a little clearer. When the penitent presses Finish, a small prayer in a blue info box appears.

A further section, separate from the Confession process, is marked Prayers. It lists Acts of Contrition and a number of Traditional Prayers, only two of which I recognised from my childhood in England.

This is not a forum to discuss religion -- dangerous stuff -- so I will stick to the app. Despite its clear colouring -- red, white, black (with blue highlighting) -- it is a touch bland on the iPad and there are some clear improvements that the developer might consider in regard to choice; and in regard to age calculation (a silly error). The same iPad app also installed on the iPhone 4 I have and there it looks considerably better.

While the iPad displays the information only in landscape form, the iPhone display is only portrait. I entered my details again. While the password on the iPad was alpha-numeric, the iPhone only showed a number pad. In Examination I chose 3 out of the 5 questions for the 10th Commandment (which seemed appropriate) and went through an identical process in the Confession panel to that on the iPad. At Finish, I was offered a brief prayer from St Francis of Assisi.

Once a user has been added, the app does not return to the opening screen on either iPhone or iPad unless it is removed from the multi-tasking bar. Then the screen was shown only for a moment.

Update

The app also tracks counts of sins and rather than questions during the confession, there are now declarative statements. Also added is a confession reminder as well as new vocations: seminarian, deacon (married or single). A new flag is available for those who have children (or not) and users may swipe between commandments. The update also adds support for the iPhone 5.

Some Conclusions

This app might be of interest to those who attend confession, particularly those whose confessions are irregular. Those who convert to Catholicism may find it of value as well as a form of instruction and a way to anticipate what may happen during a confession in the presence of a priest. As some people age, so religion may reclaim them and there have been some famous conversions such as Cardinal Newman and more recently former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who may have more on his conscience than I ever will. Despite what a number of commentators online implied -- confession, there's an app for it -- this is no substitute, nor was it ever intended to be.

Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs.