Question for/about Catholics?

Question

Why do Catholics confess to a priest? When the Bible clearly tells us that we can call on the name of Jesus. 1 John 1:9 says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Also in 1 John 2:1, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have ONE who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. Our confession should be to Jesus, not to a Priest who will go to Jesus for us......

Answer 1

The Catholic Church believes that "Only God forgives sin."

When a penitent person asks God for forgiveness, his (or her) sins are immediately forgiven.

Catholics also believe that when someone sins they not only hurt their relationship with God, they also injure the entire church, the body of Christ.

Jesus said, "I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19)

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,"Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (Luke 20:22-23)

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation with a priest ordained in the name of Jesus Christ not only reconciles the sinner to God but with the entire church, including you and me.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

The simple fact is, sin makes everyone corrupt, and no one is capable of properly evaluating the true depravity of their sins.

This is why a priest is not authorized to forgive his own sins.

Most people also fail to understand that sorrow for sins, as well as true repentance, has always been required by God before forgiveness might be granted. And absent the special graces and the specific leniency and form of a sacrament, most of us fall far short of God's high standards, in this regard.

The very first thing Jesus did after he rose again from the dead was to anoint his apostles with the Holy Spirit, and instruct them in the fine points of the forgiveness of sins. Then he gave them the power to forgive sins, as well.

This was a radical departure from the old ways, and was much better than the old, merely ceremonial, scapegoat system. It was also very proactive, and a logical thing to do once the grace of salvation had been obtained for us by Christ.

Only those referencing the old testament speak of God as being the only one capable of forgiving sins, and most of the time, it was the corrupt Pharisees doing the talking. Now it's the protestants.

The new covenant changed everything forever, and Jesus gave the men who govern and shepherd his church wide ranging and sweeping powers that no man ever had before.

Protestants are loathe to admit it, even though the scriptures clearly point this out. Much of the reason for this is the protestant's faulty teaching that priests and sacraments are no longer necessary.

Suffice it to say that Jesus gave unlimited power and authority to his Church, and to the men who govern it.

He never gave such power or authority to the scriptures, or to any other group of men.

It is the Catholic Church that governs the new covenant, according to God's continuing heavenly confirmation and divine will.

And if any sin is forgiven, it's done only by God's power and through Jesus' redemptive work, no matter what the means, and no matter who else might assist in the process.

In the end, the most comforting sound in the whole world, especially when one is seriously troubled, or near death, is the voice of the priest, when, after hearing your good confession, he may be heard to say, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

As for the rest of you, may God have mercy on your soul.

Answer 3

John 20:21-23 states "(Jesus) said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' And when He said this, He breathed on them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Jesus gives the disciples the authority to forgive, and not to forgive. This means a priest must hear the sins in order to know whether to forgive them or hold them bound. We do confess to God directly in our own prayers, but we also confess through the ministery of the priest because that is what God requires, as taught in Scripture. If you will read 2 Cor 5:17-20 you will see that St. Paul explains how the Apostles are ambassadors of Christ's work of reconciliation. This means that they share in the ministry of Christ and forgive sins in His name. James 5:13-16 tells us that the sins of the sick are forgiven in this sacrament of annointing. He specifies that the presbyters (priests) must be called. They obviously had a power the ordinary Christians didn't have, the power to forgive sins. So we go back to what Jesus said "As the Father sent Me so I send you". The Apostles are to continue the mission of Christ. The mission to forgive sins. Jesus knows our human nature and provides sacramental confession to give us several important gifts: humility, the certainty of forgiveness, spiritual direction and help to overcome self-deception and rationalization in matters of sin.

God bless,
Stanbo

Answer 4

Through Apostolic succession, Jesus tells His Apostles, whatever you forgive on earth will be forgiven in Heaven. Through valid ordination through Holy Orders a Priest works "In Persona Christi". When you confess to the priest you are confessing to Christ. The Priest is only a vessel or conduit. It is still Christ who hears the confession and Christ who forgives the sin. Not the man.

There is also New Testament scripture that tells us to "confess your sins to one another."


P.S. Jill (below) happens to be a prime example of an unfortunate Catholic who never took the time to learn her faith. And because of this was led from the Church by some Protestant friends who she could not give adequate answers to when questioned about Catholicism. May God help you to see truth again and give you the grace to learn it. Do you even know what praying the Rosary really is? Obviously not by your comment.

Answer 5

James 5:16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.



John 20: 19So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."
20And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.

21So Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you."

22And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

23"If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."

Answer 6

I use to be catholic, and I have tried so many times to tell them this same thing. In fact I have even asked them for verses in the Bible for other things such as praying to Mary and others that they call saint's, which clearly tells us in Exodus 20:4-5 that this is idol worship. Also, there is no biblical scripture to backup using a rosary or any statues and bowing to them. None of the catholic want to hear this, even if it costs them their eternity. I have prayed for so many of them to open their eyes to the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and to be born again as it says is in John 3:3 and to accept only Jesus as their Savior, not man. Jesus is the only way to the Father as it says in John 14:6. I am happy that you too took the time to tell them this. If only one person would listen that will be one more soul won for Jesus and the angles in heaven will rejoice. Most catholics are stuck in this thing called tradition. I was too for a long time until I got witnessed to and learned the truth. It is in the Holy Bible (KJV)1611. It is even in their Bibles, just that the priest does not teach it. You are right, a priest cannot go to God for our sins, only Jesus can and God wants to hear them from us. A priest cannot forgive any ones sins,as he cannot even forgive his own sins. I renounced the catholic religion and became a born again Christian. May God Bless you for speaking out and trying to reach the catholics before it is too late.

Answer 7

Very good observation. The Bible says there is only one mediator between God and man--Jesus Christ.

Answer 8

Catholics confess their sins to priests because – as it is clearly stated in Sacred Scripture – God in the Person of Jesus Christ authorized the priests of His Church to hear confessions and empowered them to forgive sins in His Name. To the Apostles, the first priests of His Church, Christ said: "Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you... Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." (John 20:21-23). Then again: "Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven." (Matt. 18:18). In other words, Catholics confess their sins to priests because priests are God's duly authorized agents in the world, representing Him in all matters pertaining to the ways and means of attaining eternal salvation. When Catholics confess their sins to a priest they ARE, in reality, confessing their sins to God, for God hears their confessions and it is He who, in the final analysis, does the forgiving. If their confessions are not sincere, their sins are not forgiven.

Furthermore, Catholics DO confess their sins directly to God as Protestants do: Catholics are taught to make an act of contrition at least every night before retiring, to ask God to forgive them their sins of that day. Catholics are also taught to say this same prayer of contrition if they should have the misfortune to commit a serious sin (called a "mortal sin" by Catholics).

Granting that priests do have the power to forgive sins in the name of God, what advantage does confessing one's sins to a priest have over confessing directly to God in private prayer?

Catholics see several advantages in confessing their sins to a priest in the Sacrament of Penance. First, there is the Church's guarantee of forgiveness, which private confessions do not provide; secondly, there is the sacramental grace which private confessions do not provide; and thirdly, there is the expert spiritual counseling which private confessions do not provide. With the Apostles, Catholics recognize that the Church is, in a mysterious way, the Body of Christ still living in the world (Col. 1:18); therefore they recognize that God will receive their pleas for mercy and forgiveness with far greater compassion if their pleas are voiced within the Church, in union with the Mystical Body of His Divine Son, than if they are voiced privately, independent of the Mystical Body of His Divine Son.

Do Catholics confess all the sordid details of their sins to the priest?

No, Catholics are instructed NOT to confess the sordid details of their sins, because it would serve no useful purpose. All that is required of the penitent is the number and classification of sins committed, as well as a sincere contrition for having sinned, a promise to make restitution if the sin has harmed others, a firm resolve to avoid future sins and the occasions of sin, and the carrying out of the penance assigned by the priest (usually the praying of a few prayers). Actually, there are fewer intimacies revealed to the priest in the confessional than are usually revealed to one's doctor, lawyer, or psychiatrist; hence the Sacrament of Penance is not the embarrassing experience many non-Catholics imagine it is. Rather, it is a wonderful relieving experience, for it is through this sacrament that sins committed after Baptism are washed away by the blood of Christ and the sinner becomes once again reconciled with God.

For more questions about the Catholic faith answered by an ex-Protestant minister go to the following link :
http://www.olrl.org/apologetics/cathansr.shtml

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to defend my faith.

Answer 9

i don't know, but i know after working with 2 of them that those women are crazy and need to do more than confessing to a priest for all of their lying, gossiping, backstabbing etc.

Answer 10

Confessing Sins to a Priest

Regarding the forgiveness of sins, two critical doctrines must be examined. First, all sins must be confessed to a priest according to the Catechism:

"One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his conscience." Pg. 374, #1493
"Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance:" Pg. 365, #1456

"It is called the sacrament of confession, since the disclosure or confession of sins to a priest is an essential element of this sacrament. Pg. 357, #1424 (See also Pg. 374, #1493).


Catholicism orders members to confess their sins to a man, BUT the Bible reveals that those who have been born into God's family can go straight to God's throne to receive forgiveness for their sins:

"I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. " Psalm 32:5
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9


David confessed his sins to God when he prayed:

"Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me." Psalm 51:2-3

Here is why true Christians have access to God' s throne:

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus..." Hebrews 10:19

Because of the sinless blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross, we have the authority to go straight to the throne of God for forgiveness.

The "first pope's" example

In the book of Acts, a man named Simon came to the alleged first pope, Peter, wanting to buy the power of the Holy Spirit. How did Peter respond to this sin? Did he suggest that Simon make a confession to him right there? No, Peter told him to repent and confess his sin to God and ask God to forgive him. (See Acts 8:18-22).

Can priests forgive sins?

The second part of this doctrine suggests that Catholic priests have the power to forgive sins:

"Only priests who have received the faculty of absolving from the authority of the Church can forgive sins in the name of Christ." Pg. 374, #1495 (See also Pg. 364 #1448)


Catholicism teaches that the priest is a mediator between God and man. (See Pg. 365, #1456). But the Bible recognizes only one mediator:

"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;" 1 Timothy 2:5

Once again, the Catechism admits that these are not instructions from God, but traditions of men:

"The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as the second plank [of salvation]..." Pg. 363 #1446

More bondage

"According to the Church's command, 'after having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year.'" Pg. 365, #1457 (Emphasis author's)

There is that word "bound" again. The Church Fathers created another tradition which keeps people in bondage to the Catholic church.

What a powerful weapon to use against Catholics around the world. In essence, this doctrine says that if you leave the Catholic church, you will not be able to obtain forgiveness for your sins, which means you won't go to heaven.

Please remember, none of this came from God! These are all man-made threats. May God open your spiritual eyes and give you understanding, so that you may see the depth of the bondage this religion holds you in. May God show you that you don't have to be held captive to this religion any longer. Jesus Christ wants to set you free.

Conclusion

Millions of faithful Catholics blindly file into confessional booths, believing that the priest has the power to forgive their sins.

What about you? Where will you go to have your sins forgiven? To a sinful priest, as the man-made traditions of the Catholic church demand?

Or will you go straight to God Almighty, as the Bible teaches?

"Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." Psalm 130:1-4