Catholics cannot confess via iPhone and technology is not a substitute for being present when admitting sins to a priest, a Vatican spokesman said.

The statement by Father Federico Lombardi follows the launch of an iPhone application aimed at helping Catholics through confession and sanctioned by the Catholic Church in the United States.

"One cannot speak in any way of confessing via iPhone," Father Lombardi said, adding that confession required the presence of the penitent and the priest.

"This cannot be substituted by any IT application."

Confession - thought to be the first application to be approved by a church authority - walks Catholics through the sacrament and contains what the company behind the program describes as a "personalised examination of conscience for each user".

The application is not designed to replace going to confession but to help Catholics through the act, which generally involves admitting sins to a priest in a confessional booth.

- Reuters