Catholic church says NO to confessions by SMS

As popular as texting may be in the Philippines, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has spoken against accepting confessions by SMS. Secretary General Hernando Coronel, quoted in the Philippine Star and reported in boingboing declared: "Confessions sent via text messaging or other means of modern communication, like e-mail and fax machines, are "unacceptable." "Catholic priests", he added, "are prohibited from granting absolution for a confessant's sins using text messaging, e-mail or by faxing the absolutions to the confessant."

But don't get the wrong idea, the catholic church is very open to new technology and means of communicating to evangelise the world. The Pope himself is spreading the word through a pay-for-text messaging service in which he sends subscribers a thought for the day or a prayer by SMS (so far only available over Italian networks, according to an article in Ananova)

emily | 11:42 AM | SMS and Religion |
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