Opposition To Confession App Mounts

Last week the Catholic Church launched a confession app for smart phones, leading some LGBT activists to denounce its makers as promoting anti-gay spiritual abuse. One portion of the app demands to know if the operator has been "guilty of any homosexual activity."

Wayne Besen, executive director of Truth Wins Out, a group that campaigns on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people, accused the app of "helping to create neurotic individuals who are ashamed of who they are". "This is cyber spiritual abuse that promotes backward ideas in a modern package," said Besen. "Gay Catholics don't need to confess, they need to come out of the closet and challenge anti-gay dogma. The false idea that being gay is something to be ashamed of has destroyed too many lives. This iPhone app is facilitating and furthering the harm." Gay rights groups have become concerned at the use of technology to target minorities. Besen pointed to the Manhattan Declaration app, which was released last October on the back of a 5,000-word petition drawn up by several Christian groups, and opposed LGBT rights and gay marriage. A furore among liberal commentators prompted iTunes to pull the app from its store.

While the app costs $1.99, church officials say it does not mark a return to the selling of indulgences. Heh.