'Forgive Me iPad, For I Have Sinned...'

01:03

February 08, 2011

The "Examination of Conscience" screen of the "Confession" iPad app. (Courtesy LittleIApps)

It's still a few weeks before the start of Lent but, for the Catholics out there:Been to confession lately?

A new iPhone app might make your trip towards reconciliation a little bit easier. Appropriately called, "Confession," the tool is described by the developer as the "perfect aid for every penitent." The pocket-sized $1.99 confessor was created by Patrick Leinen of LittleIApps, LLC in South Bend, Ind.

The home screen of the "Confession" iPhone app. (Courtesy LittleIApps) — The "User" screen of the "Confession" iPhone app. (Courtesy LittleIApps)

Released last week on iTunes, the app has even received a seal of approval from senior Church officials in the United States and the United Kingdom. And while it can't actually hear or process your confession, it can get you ready to face the priest, examining your conscience based on personalized factors such as age, sex and marital status.

Thomas Groome, a Professor of Theology and Religious Education at Boston College think the app is convenient, but makes it clear that it could never stand-in for clergy.

"It doesn't replace celebrating the sacrament of reconciliation," Groome said. "You can't go to confession over the phone, and receive absolution."

This segment aired on February 8, 2011.