Thou Shall Not Confess Online, Vatican Rules

You can book a vacation, order groceries or buy a book on the Internet, but you will never have your sins forgiven online, the Vatican said.

A top Vatican official told Italian media that the Roman Catholic Church would rule out giving confessions over the Internet in a document to be issued by the Pontifical Council for Social Communication.

"The Internet is a wonderful instrument for evangelization and pastoral service, but it will never be possible to confess online," the council president, Archbishop John Foley, was quoted as saying.