Vatican endorses iPhone prayer app

(Credit: iBreviary)

Doing any last-minute holiday shopping for that religious yet tech-savvy someone in your life?

On Monday, the Vatican formally endorsed an iPhone application that allows users to load the Breviary prayer book, prayers for saying a Catholic Mass, and other prayers.

The application, called iBreviary, was created by Rev. Paolo Padrini and Web designer Dimitri Giani. It's available for purchase in Europe, and in the U.S. at Apple's App Store for 99 cents with free upgrades planned. Languages included in the U.S. version are Italian and English.

The Catholic Church is "learning to use the new technologies primarily as a tool or as a mean of evangelizing, as a way of being able to share its own message with the world," Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Social Communications, told the Associated Press.

If you read Italian (or are handy with translation software) you can read more about the iBreviary application on Dimitri Giani's Web site.

While the Catholic Church may still be lagging behind on several social and political issues, Pope Benedict XVI's attempts to modernize his organization's communications and reach out to youth through technology are widely known.

Last December the Vatican issued 10 driving commandments which ruffled some feathers at Ferrari.

The Pope is even down with using acronyms in his text messages, famously signing a mobile text sent to gatherers at last year's Catholic youth day rally in Sydney, Australia with "BXVI."

[whatnow1962]

"The Pope is even down with using acronyms in his text messages..." Yes indeed, the Catholic Church is very sophisticated in its use of technology and mass media manipulation (public relations). As a victim of a child-abusing priest and bishop who moved this particular pedophile and others around the diocese to avoid detection, I have had the (dis)pleasure of being victimized by them as a child and as an adult. They refuse to take responsibility for their actions until backed into a corner. Fortunately, the plaintiffs in my case were able to expose their conspiracy by forcing the release of their communications to one another, regarding incidents over a 35-year period. Once the mid-1990s kicked in they really got into email and loved to send messages to one another mocking and insulting their victims. These wolves watching over their flock of sheep are a despicable group of sexual predators. The current Pope Benedict, for over two decades, was in charge of the office responsible for the investigation of child abuse within the church and he did nothing to stop it. The Holy Father does not reach out to youth, he instead exploits them. I wish people would quit trying to put a human face on these predators, especially during the holiday season, because these guys stole my childhood from me, destroyed my faith and innocence, and none of this was at all "cool." In fact, they have made every day of my life a struggle to exist. Please understand, I am not attacking the Catholic Church but I am criticizing many individuals within it who have used the priesthood as a convenient cover, which has given them an excellent cover to "terrorize" little children. Shame on them all, this Christmas season. Shame on society for not holding them accountable for their actions and not standing up in support of the victims.

[TechnoMan475392]

Amen.

[bmn_1213]

@whatnow...sorry about your trauma and victimization. but you take your data dump on the christian church over to www.reviews.ihatetheworld.com, not here at reviews.cnet.com. and stop in at ineedhelp.com for an electronic psychotherapy session while you're at it. you have mistaken the internet for a giant complaint box.

this is a site for things digital and electronic. your post, while sympathetic, doesn't belong here. what next? marching on over the New Orleans Saint Football web site to spill more bile b/c of their connection to the catholic church too? spam ABC for presenting It's a Wonderful Life?

shame on you for not knowing where you are when you release your criticisms into the wild. shame on you indeed.

merry christmas, especially to a troubled soul like you.