Originally published at National Catholic Register
Anyone who uses a smartphone has likely experienced the same unsettling phenomenon — a pointedly placed advertisement that seems to show up right after you’ve discussed a topic or product.
Could it be true that your phone is “listening” to your private conversations?
It’s a surprisingly difficult question to answer — and one that has bred enough uncertainty that bishops are starting to issue bans on smartphones in that most private of Catholic spaces: the confessional.
Here’s what you need to know about the privacy concerns surrounding smartphones and how one Catholic diocese is responding.
Protecting the Seal
Right off the bat, it’s important to point out that the Catholic Church takes privacy in the confessional very seriously.
The sacrament of confession, also called reconciliation, was implemented by Jesus Christ as the means of forgiving sins. He passed the authority to forgive sins down to his apostles, who in turn passed it down to the priests of today.
The “seal of confession” binds priests to treat a penitent’s privacy with the utmost solemnity; in fact, over the centuries, some priests have chosen death rather than reveal what they have heard. If a priest reveals any information he learned in the
