For Catholic Christians, Why confess to a priest?

Question

I once spoke to a man who gave me a verse about priests being able to forgive sin. That's all well and good, but if you are saved (or even if you are not) then you can go to God the Father and confess to Him and he will forgive you. So why go to a human and spill the beans for punishment?

Okay so what I am hearing so far is 1) because priests have the ability, then we should take advantage of that, 2) it makes us feel better to confess to a human, and 3) "confess to one another" is interpreted "confess to one priest". How do these verses line up with your beliefs:1 John 2:1-2, 1 John 4:9-10, Romans 3:24-26, Acts 10:43. Why have a middle man if we can talk directly to Jesus and get forgiveness? Which sins do I confess to a priest and which ones do I confess to who I sinned against? For example, if I commit adultery should I confess to the husband, a priest, or Jesus? If I break the speed limit (gov't law), should I confess to a police officer, Congressman, a priest, or Jesus?
It may seem that I am making light of this subject, but I want to make sure I'm covered.

Answer 1

I wish you could give me the verse, because this is one of my biggest problems with the Catholic Church. The verse I've been told they rely on is John 20:23, but it doesn't even mention confession and nowhere does that one pass the authority to forgive beyond apostles.

Confessing to others that you may have wronged is quite another thing. They certainly have the power to forgive you (or not), but it has no bearing on salvation. It's a good idea though.

Answer 2

The priest is a tool we use to get absolution FROM GOD. Through the priest, the Lord offers forgiveness. Jesus Christ Himself gave this power to His apostles, whose successors live on today through the bishops and priests of the Holy Catholic Church.

John 20:22-23 states -- "....Recieve the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

The answer is right there, in the Bible! The Bible also states that the apostles recieve the power of binding and loosing. --"Amen I say to you, WHATEVER you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:18). This power is given to Peter first, along with the keys of authority over the Church in Matthew 16:18.

Please understand this, men alone do not have the power to forgive sins. BUT, through the power of the Almighty God the bishops and priests recieve the authority to be the tools on earth that people recieve His ultimate forgiveness.

I was raised Southern Baptist. When I committed sin, I just asked forgiveness and that was the end of it. Now that I am a Catholic, it makes SO much more sense. By confessing your sins to God through the priest, you see more clearly the errors of your ways and are introduced to a means to heal the wounded spirit of the disease of sin. That means is Penance. By doing penance, you see that what you did is wrong and you realize that you don't want to do it again. God understands how humans work, He created them. That is why this is necessary.

** And yes, Apostolic succession is truth. Just look in the Book of Acts and see how Judas was replaced immediately. Just read the Acts of the Apostles and you will see how this is. Withouth succession of authority, how would the Church survive? Just use your brain and think about it.

Answer 3

Pastor Billy says: in going to confession and entering into the sacrament we receive grace from God. It is going to God when confessing through confession to a priest. The priest is the conduit by which we receive forgiveness for mortal sins confessed. The priest does not say he forgives in his name like "I father peter forgive you" but he does it in God's name. Learn the actual rite or words spoken.

The biblical basis is found in John 20:20-22. In those verses Jesus gives the authority to the apostles (men) who are his first bishops to forgive and... retain sins. The key which no doubt confirms the practise of this sacrament is the act of retaining sins granted by Christ. To be able to retain sins means awareness of the sin hence the confession process to the priest.

the benefit of Catholic confession is total knowledge of absolution of sin which non-catholics never receive. Although many non-catholics seek advise on sins and prayers for them from their pastors, they never receive absolution or knowledge of absolution and physiologically this can be very damaging, haboring regret long after the sin was committed and yet repented of privately.

The only other community which has a valid confession of this type are the Eastern Orthodox churches. Physiologically the Church plays an important role in dispensing God's grace through his sacraments.

addition: based on your additional comments you've skipped over my answer which clearly states it isn't the priest or Jesus.
The whole idea of confession is centered on Christ's authority not as some alternative to it! You'll have to try harder at excuses if you want to continue to make the claim of either or as it appears this is where you are heading.

Answer 4

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)

Oral confessing sins is recommended over and over in both the Old and New Testaments:
+ James 5:16
+ Acts 19:18
+ Matthew 3:5-6
+ Mark 1:5
+ 1 Timothy 6:12
+ 1 John 1:9
+ Numbers 5:6-7
+ Nehemiah 9:2
+ Sirach 4:26

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 5

My theory on confession is that years ago in the beginning bible days.... the church wasn't very powerful..... but they had a bunch of faithful followers... maybe some in high power..... I think maybe they created this notion of confession to get the dirty little secrets from people and use them as blackmail. "Come to the priests & confess your sins and god will absolve you of your punishments in the afterlife.... confess in the next 10 minutes and we'll throw in a free set of prayer beads at no extra cost." Imagine if the king confessed a wicked deed and the church had the leverage against him they needed to secure more power to spread their cult around the world!

That's just my theory.... being an ex-catholic... I know how pointless & stupid confession is when everyone tells you that all you need to do is pray to god for forgiveness, but then they tell you that you have to confess your sins to a man to be forgiven. It's all completely stupid if you ask me!

Answer 6

Have you not heard that the pope is above God and His Word?That is exactly why this is done.We are encouraged to confess our faults one to another.What that means is simply this: If you have a sin that seems to have a strong hold on you tell it to others that they can pray for you, not so they can tell you to "light a candle and say 12 hail marys and you will be forgiven my child". It is only God who can forgive sin.The church can come together as a body in Christ and discern whether a sin has been committed but this is not something that is laid on one mans shoulders.Matthew 18:15-17.You might also be careful how you put the words Christian and catholic together.Their is a handful but not many will be saved in that cult.


Your not making light of nothing my freind.Its simple to see even for a blind man.Who did the blind call out to when they wanted to see?Jesus or the High Preist (pope) ?

Answer 7

While Catholics would cite John 20:23, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." They also believe that Christ founded His Church through Peter...'You are Peter, and upon this rock, I build my Church.' While Catholics believe that forgiveness comes from the Father, it is a sacrament of healing, and is therefore most complete when done with the priest.

Answer 8

You are not confessing to the priest, but through the Priest. Jesus gave them the power of granting absolution from him again through the Priest.

It is one of the Sacraments that keeps us in the Grace of God.

I did not like this Sacrament when I was a Protestant, but now understand and am glad to know that my sins are forgiven.

There is nothing wrong with Praying to God, and confessing to him, but how do you know that your sins have been forgiven? Where do you get direction about living a better life from that can address your weakness directly and not have to wait for the Preacher to address it in a sermon?

Peace and God Bless!

Answer 9

Because the Bible says "Confess your sins to one another". Why is it that Protestants seem to forget this?

As far as going to a priest; if we are to confess to one another, and we understand the strong tendency to gosip, wouldn't it be better to go to someone who has taken a sacred oath not to divulge what is told them? Do not priests have a long history and the respect of the law to not divulge such things? Have not priests gone to jail when refusing to reveal what was said in the confessional?

In other words, where the Bible commands the confession of sin to one another, the Catholic Church provides a means to carry this out.

Answer 10

While I am not a Catholic, I can give you some good insight into this great question. The concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. First, the New Testament does not teach that there are to be priests in the New Covenant. Instead, the New Testament teaches that all believers are priests. 1 Peter 2:5-9 describes believers as a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood.” Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 both describe believers as “a kingdom and priests.” In the Old Covenant, the faithful had to approach God through the priests. The priests were mediators between the people and God. The priests offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. That is no longer necessary. Because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we can now approach God’s throne with boldness (Hebrews 4:16). The temple veil tearing in two at Jesus’ death was symbolic of the dividing wall between God and humanity being destroyed. We can approach God directly, ourselves, without the use of a human mediator. Why? Because Jesus Christ is our great High Priest (Hebrews 4:14-15; 10:21), and the only mediator between us and God (1 Timothy 2:15). The New Testament teaches that there are to be elders (1 Timothy 3), deacons (1 Timothy 3), bishops (Titus 1:6-9), and pastors (Ephesians 4:11) – but not priests.

When it comes to confession of sin, believers are told in 1 John 1:9 to confess their sins to God. God is faithful and just to forgive our sins as we confess them to Him. James 5:16 speaks of confessing our trespasses “to one another,” but this is not the same as confessing sins to a priest as the Roman Catholic Church teaches. Priests / church leaders are nowhere mentioned in the context of James 5:16. Further, James 5:16 does not link forgiveness of sins with the confession of sins “to one another.”

The Roman Catholic Church bases their practice of confession to a priest primarily on Catholic tradition. Catholic do point to John 20:23, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven." From this verse, Catholics claim that God gave the apostles the authority to forgive sins, and that authority was passed on to the successors of the apostles, e.g. the bishops and priests of the Roman Catholic Church. There are several problems with this interpretation. (1) John 20:23 nowhere mentions confession of sin. (2) John 20:23 nowhere promises, or even hints, that the authority to forgive sins would be passed on to the successors of the apostles. Jesus’ promise was specifically directed to the apostles. (3) The New Testament nowhere states that the apostles would even have successors to their apostolic authority. Similarly, Catholics point to Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 (binding and loosing) as evidence for the Catholic Church’s authority to forgive sins. The same three above points apply equally to these Scriptures.

Again, the concept of confession of sin to a priest is nowhere taught in Scripture. We are to confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9). As New Covenant believers, we do not need mediators between us and God. We can go to God directly because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. 1 Timothy 2:5, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”