App of good deed

Chloe Hamilton 

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Is a good deed still a good deed if you don’t post about it on social media? Well, according to a new Catholic “good deed” app, possibly not. 

Smartphone app Misericors — created a few months ago by the Polish Church in honour of Pope Francis’s birthday— allows selfless social media users to keep both a personal and a public record of their altruistic acts, encouraging them to incorporate “works of mercy” into their daily lives and inspire others with their good deeds.

The free app is available on Apple and Android and has been translated into 13 languages, including English, Spanish and Italian. Keen to find out more, I download it. I’m not a Catholic, but I do worship at the altar of social media, so I figure I’m up to the challenge.

Misericors is laid out simply with the good deeds divided into two categories: “Spiritual Works of Mercy” — which include admonishing sinners, instructing the ignorant and counselling the doubtful —  and “Corporal Works of Mercy”, such as feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and visiting the sick.

Users scroll through the options, choose a deed, and upload a photo of them performing said deed, before adding a catchy hashtag and posting it onto their “wall”. Like on Twitter or Facebook, the post is then picked up by fellow good-deeders, who can click on “I will do it” or “I will pray” buttons, which are holy versions of a “like” or a “favourite”.  With so much hate in the world, it’s rather nice to have a site dedicated entirely to goodness – religious or otherwise. 

— The Independent