why do catholics go to confessional?

Question

im trying to better understand catholicism. why go to a priest and confess, when you can talk to Jesus? a priest or the pope cant forgive you of your sins only Jesus can. and who does that priest go to for confessions? and does the pope go to confessions? or is the pope not a sinner?
i just wanna know what catholics think

"DougLawrence" and "misty0408" you both dont understand the verses you gave me. You used them out of context. The Mark 2:6-7 verses, Jesus healed a paralyzed man, Jesus said,"Son your sins are forgiven." The Jewish teachers that heard Jesus say this said that what Jesus said was blasphemy. The Jewish teachers also said, "Who can forgive sins but God alone?"
This has nothing to do with priest being able to forgive your sins. Only Jesus can forgive sins. read John 14:6

and the John 20:20-23 verses "DougLawrence and "misty" dont seem to understand. Both of you stated that verse 23 is saying that priest are able to forgive sins. This is not true. God doesnt forgive peoples sins because a priest says so, nor does God not forgive sins because a priest or pope says so. Those who proclaim the gospel are in effect forgiving or not forgiving sins, depending on whether the hearers accept or reject Jesus Christ. In the text, Jesus has just resurrected and He is telling the disciples to go out the preach the gospel and save people.

Both of you seem to think that praying to God is not enough to forgive you of your sins. The key is having faith. If you have faith in Jesus Christ you absolutely know your sins are forgiven when you pray to Him. You dont need to go to a priest to forgive you because he cant. He is a sinner like me and you. Jesus is without sin. He is perfect. God knows our hearts, the pope or the priest doesnt know our hearts.

Answer 1

Catholics erroneously believe the pope, priests, saints, mary etc. to be mediators between themselves and God. I don't know if the Pope goes to confession because I think the church believes him to be infallible or something.

Was brought up Catholic, but now a non-denominational Christian.

Confession is a SCARY experience for a child. I was crying hysterically during my first confession. The idea of it creeps me out even today.

Answer 2

Jesus gave the Apostles the authority to forgive sins.

John 20:21-23 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

This authority was passed on through the Apostles to the priests etc.

You can talk to Jesus but it's difficult for us to have perfect contrition. We are sorry for our sins, but most of us will find ourselves doing it again. Also, if you talk directly to Jesus, you will most likely leave things out.

The priest stands in the place of Christ. When we confess in the confessional, we are confessing to God. Just like when you are married and a priest presides over the ceremony...it is really God who is marrying you. Your vow is to eachother and to God...not the priest. The same goes for confession.

Before going to confession, we must do an examination of conscience. Usually this involves going over the 10 commandments and remembering the times you have sinned. You then make your confession to God with the preist present. He waits until you are done, gives you a pennance and then uses his authority (to forgive sins based on Jesus' words) to absolve your sins. This absolution comes from God.

Yes, the priests and the Pope go to confession. All human beings are sinners...even the Pope.

Answer 3

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 of 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.

Remember all sacraments are encounters with God. This sacrament is a healing encounter between God and the penitent.

For more information, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 1422 and following: http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/pt2sect2chpt2.htm

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

Who told you that only God can forgive sins? I bet it was a scribe!

Mar 2:6 And there were some of the scribes sitting there and thinking in their hearts:
Mar 2:7 Why doth this man speak thus? He blasphemeth. Who can forgive sins, but God only?

Priests can indeed forgive sins in Jesus' name, because Jesus specifically endowed them with that power as the very first thing he did after his resurrection.

Joh 20:19 Now when it was late the same day, the first of the week, and the doors were shut, where the disciples were gathered together, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst and said to them: Peace be to you.
Joh 20:20 And when he had said this, he shewed them his hands and his side. The disciples therefore were glad, when they saw the Lord.
Joh 20:21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.
Joh 20:22 When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
Joh 20:23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them: and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.

Priests, bishops, and popes confess their sins just like eveyone else ... to another priest or bishop.

The advantages of this system are many.

It is thorough and professional, so ALL sins tend to be confessed, and fully absolved, which is very important.

It is also very comforting, especially when one is in danger of death, as there is no doubt of the condition of one's soul after absolution for sins has been received.

By comparison, those who insist on confessing their sins directly to God will not know whether he has accepted their apology (or not) until Judgment Day.

Catholics think the sacrament of reconciliation is one of God's greatest gifts.

Answer 5

Priests forgive sins in the name of Jesus and of the Church to whom Jesus gave the authority to forgive sins.

A simpler way to understand this: An acquaintance participates in a 12 Step Program (Alcoholics Anonymous), and he explained to me that one of the steps is to admit to God, to one's self, and to another human being, the exact nature of one's wrongs. This friend said that he was not able to stay sober until he admitted his wrongs to another person. On many occasions he expressed his regret to God, but he was not able to stay sober. It seems to me that Alcoholics know something about healing and forgiveness, that is obvious to Catholics, but yet unknown to protestants. Jesus said that God has revealed to the simple and the humble that which He keeps hidden from the learned and the wise.

Finally, Paul says that when one part of the body suffers, the entire body suffers. Thus, when a member of Christ bodies is enslaved to sin, the entire Body of Christ is wounded by the sin of one. The priest, as a representative of the Body of Christ, is able to heal the wounded member, and thus bring healing to that part of the Body of Christ.

Answer 6

yes but its like when ur talking to a priest u talk to them like you are talking to God and a priest tells you what to do if you feel bad about something and they usually tell you to say 3 hail Mary prayers to ask God for forgiveness and say if you where fighting with someone and it was your fault a priest would tell you what to do about it like tell the person how sry you are but usually when i go to confession the school just brings us all over to the parish church and usually its just small things and a priest takes an oath so if you tell him you murdered someone and your sry for it and you want Gods forgiveness the priest cant tell anyone not even the police and if your to embarrassed or ashamed to go face to face with a priest and tell them something you can write it on a page that's printed out at the entrance to a church and not put your name on it and at the end of the week the priest takes them all out and reads them and blesses them or you can do that if your to busy to go speak to a priest

Answer 7

Jesus Christ Granted the Apostles His Authority to Forgive Sins
John 20:21 - before He grants them the authority to forgive sins, Jesus says to the apostles, "as the Father sent me, so I send you." As Christ was sent by the Father to forgive sins, so Christ sends the apostles and their successors forgive sins.

John 20:22 - the Lord "breathes" on the apostles, and then gives them the power to forgive and retain sins. The only other moment in Scripture where God breathes on man is in Gen. 2:7, when the Lord "breathes" divine life into man. When this happens, a significant transformation takes place.

John 20:23 - Jesus says, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are retained." In order for the apostles to exercise this gift of forgiving sins, the penitents must orally confess their sins to them because the apostles are not mind readers. The text makes this very clear.

Matt. 9:8 - this verse shows that God has given the authority to forgive sins to "men." Hence, those Protestants who acknowledge that the apostles had the authority to forgive sins (which this verse demonstrates) must prove that this gift ended with the apostles. Otherwise, the apostles' successors still possess this gift. Where in Scripture is the gift of authority to forgive sins taken away from the apostles or their successors?

Matt. 9:6; Mark 2:10 - Christ forgave sins as a man (not God) to convince us that the "Son of man" has authority to forgive sins on earth.

Luke 5:24 - Luke also points out that Jesus' authority to forgive sins is as a man, not God. The Gospel writers record this to convince us that God has given this authority to men. This authority has been transferred from Christ to the apostles and their successors.

Matt. 18:18 - the apostles are given authority to bind and loose. The authority to bind and loose includes administering and removing the temporal penalties due to sin. The Jews understood this since the birth of the Church.

John 20:22-23; Matt. 18:18 - the power to remit/retain sin is also the power to remit/retain punishment due to sin. If Christ's ministers can forgive the eternal penalty of sin, they can certainly remit the temporal penalty of sin (which is called an "indulgence").

2 Cor. 2:10 - Paul forgives in the presence of Christ (some translations refer to the presences of Christ as "in persona Christi"). Some say that this may also be a reference to sins.

2 Cor. 5:18 - the ministry of reconciliation was given to the ambassadors of the Church. This ministry of reconciliation refers to the sacrament of reconciliation, also called the sacrament of confession or penance.

James 5:15-16 - in verse 15 we see that sins are forgiven by the priests in the sacrament of the sick. This is another example of man's authority to forgive sins on earth. Then in verse 16, James says “Therefore, confess our sins to one another,” in reference to the men referred to in verse 15, the priests of the Church.

1 Tim. 2:5 - Christ is the only mediator, but He was free to decide how His mediation would be applied to us. The Lord chose to use priests of God to carry out His work of forgiveness.

Lev. 5:4-6; 19:21-22 - even under the Old Covenant, God used priests to forgive and atone for the sins of others.

The Necessity and Practice of Orally Confessing Sins
James 5:16 - James clearly teaches us that we must “confess our sins to one another,” not just privately to God. James 5:16 must be read in the context of James 5:14-15, which is referring to the healing power (both physical and spiritual) of the priests of the Church. Hence, when James says “therefore” in verse 16, he must be referring to the men he was writing about in verses 14 and 15 – these men are the ordained priests of the Church, to whom we must confess our sins.

Acts 19:18 - many came to orally confess sins and divulge their sinful practices. Oral confession was the practice of the early Church just as it is today.

Matt. 3:6; Mark 1:5 - again, this shows people confessing their sins before others as an historical practice (here to John the Baptist).

1 Tim. 6:12 - this verse also refers to the historical practice of confessing both faith and sins in the presence of many witnesses.

1 John 1:9 - if we confess are sins, God is faithful to us and forgives us and cleanse us. But we must confess our sins to one another.

Num. 5:7 - this shows the historical practice of publicly confessing sins, and making public restitution.

2 Sam. 12:14 - even though the sin is forgiven, there is punishment due for the forgiven sin. David is forgiven but his child was still taken (the consequence of his sin).

Neh. 9:2-3 - the Israelites stood before the assembly and confessed sins publicly and interceded for each other.

Sir. 4:26 - God tells us not to be ashamed to confess our sins, and not to try to stop the current of a river. Anyone who has experienced the sacrament of reconciliation understands the import of this verse.

Baruch 1:14 - again, this shows that the people made confession in the house of the Lord, before the assembly.

1 John 5:16-17; Luke 12:47-48 - there is a distinction between mortal and venial sins. This has been the teaching of the Catholic Church for 2,000 years, but, today, most Protestants no longer agree that there is such a distinction. Mortal sins lead to death and must be absolved in the sacrament of reconciliation. Venial sins do not have to be confessed to a priest, but the pious Catholic practice is to do so in order to advance in our journey to holiness.

Matt. 5:19 - Jesus teaches that breaking the least of commandments is venial sin (the person is still saved but is least in the kingdom), versus mortal sin (the person is not saved).