Leave the Phone

I know I just wrote about the intrusion of technology, but this one really did come up just the other day as well. I read a statement that a Bishop here in these USA forbade his priests from bringing a "smart" phone into the Confessional. He reminded them that smart phones are always listening because they are waiting for commands from you. That means that someone (hacker or original programmer, it does not matter) can find out what you said.

Thus, I would add that laity should not bring the phone in either because it is just as possible for their phones to be "listening" to the confession (and I have heard stories about awful things that happen as a result). In Canon Law it says that it is strictly forbidden for anyone to record a Confession. By consequence it should extend to anyone bringing a recording device into the Confessional; and smart phones would fit into that category.

For those of you who really know the story (and do not just quote it because you have heard others say it), "Big Brother is Watching". And, I can add, Big Brother does not have your best interest in mind. Just as it is wrong to speak loudly in the Confessional (it causes others to be scandalized if they hear your confession), so it is wrong to make it possible for a technological device to be aware of what is supposed to be private.