Greetings. With word that the Catholic Church has now endorsed a "confession app" for iPhones and related devices, two trains of thought immediately occur to me.

First to mind is the potential law enforcement bonanza whenever searching for Catholic criminals, especially in states like California where the California Supreme Court has recently granted authorities access to smartphones and other devices' contents without even needing a search warrant.

[Update: February 10, 2011: The Vatican has now effectively banned the app, stating that "under no circumstances is it possible to confess by iPhone." Their full wording suggests that Android and other platforms are also excluded. Priests the world over sigh in relief.]

On the lighter side, I'm also reminded of how film and television science fiction have approached the topic of "computerized religion" in their respective genres.

So, here are two very brief clips displaying views of how the future of religion might transpire. First, let's observe a scene from George Lucas' THX 1138 (1971). Then we'll view a more obscure clip, also from 40 years ago, from the very fine series The Name of the Game -- and the only sci-fi episode of the series, titled L.A. 2017 -- directed by a young Universal staffer named ... Steven Spielberg!

Robert Duvall stars in the first clip, Gene Barry and Sharon Farrell in the latter. Bonus info: A friend of mine had a speaking role in that TV episode.

Catholic Church's "Confession App" Meets Film/TV Sci-Fi!
[YouTube] (~2.5 minutes)

--Lauren--