Mobile Phones in the Confessional
Following discussion at the Bishops’ Conference, it has been advised that, due to the sacred nature of the confessional, clergy and penitents are requested not to have active mobile phones with them in the confessional. They should not just be put on silent/airplane mode but should be turned off completely before entering the confessional. This is because phones can still ‘listen’ to conversations and AI algorithms identify items of interest to potential advertisers. This technology does not affect every network but must be presumed to be operative because it cannot be proven otherwise.
