What authority do Catholic Priests have for absolving sin?

Question

How is it that Catholic Priests, men, have authority to absolve people of their sin when presumably that is something for God to deal with? Priests hear confessions and absolve/forgive sins in the name of God?

Is that blasphemous?

Does any man have the authority to speak in God's name?

Does the Bible specifically give specifically appointed men this authority - to absolve in God's name?

Also, how can people seemingly accept this absolving of their sins from an organisation which historically has acted in a very unchristian way. When a priest is found guilty of something, ie child abuse, how does that affect the people who have confessed to that priest and received his supposed authority?

Answer 1

Since a mere man cannot read the heart of someone confessing then he is simply unable to know whether forgiveness can be given or not.

That is surely obvious?

We understand that the Roman Catholic Church uses sophistry, guile and superstition to gain control and power and prestige for itself but the simple facts cannot be denied.

Forgiveness can only be offered by God and is only possible because Jesus Christ has already been punished for the offence or sin, otherwise Justice would not, could not be done consistent with forgiveness. Justice demands that all breaches of God's Law or standards must be punished. There are no possible exceptions. Mercy or remission is not possible without breaching Justice. That is why Christ died and was punished, to fully satisfy the demands of Justice.

Now forgiveness, mercy is available through being joined to Christ. Only God can do that by His Spirit through faith. That obviously can only be a once only action or transaction which endures forever. It is absurd to imagine you can be continually joined to Christ and separated from Him as you sin. That is a device of the Roman Catholic Church to exert control.

Being united to Christ is a once and for all work of God, Who gives repentance and faith to enable this and it is variously called salvation, being born again or anew, baptism into Christ, made a son of God. It is all of God since He even gives the repentance and the faith on which He then acts. To seal this, God gives His Holy Spirit to the person to abide with him and to keep him forever. That is why 1 John 3/6, 9, 5/18 and 1 John 2/20, 27, 4/13

How then can there be any room for man in this work of God?

Manifestly there cannot be.

You are perfectly correct to ask if that notion that men can forgive sins is blasphemous. It most certainly is. The Jews were perfectly clear in their understanding that only God can forgive sins, for example in Luke 5 esp. v 21. If Christ had not been God they would have been perfectly correct to put Him to death.

That the Roman Catholic Church is blasphemous is crystal clear according to the Bible. That so called church, for many years sought to suppress the Bible and which burnt those who made it available and lived by it. Ye shall know them by their fruits.

Now they wrest and twist its verses to destroy the fundamental teaching, in order to drag away and usurp to itself that which belongs to God only. Thus it fulfills the role of antichrist and is and has been more responsible for the death and destruction of men's souls than any other. It has also viciously persecuted God's own people. And all whilst using the name of Christ for a cover and deception to disarm and fool the simple and unsuspecting. What a broad way it has turned out to be. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

That God has commissioned certain chosen men, the Apostles, to declare the message of God's forgiveness is true and is the true meaning of John 20/23 to which the remainder of the Scriptures testify. God worked great miracles through the Apostles and gave them great power through the Holy Spirit even to perceive into men's hearts, Acts 5/3-4, 8/20-23. No wonder the people were in great fear. How that can be compared to today’s decrepit charlatans of the Roman Catholic Church is a wonder in itself!

The secret, spiritual and organic body of Christ, the true church, each individual of which holds fast to the Head, Colossian 2/19, is built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. And most certainly not on the Roman Catholic Church! Those Apostles and Prophets are responsible for the Bible, God's word given to us through them. We no longer have the Apostles nor any "Apostolic line of continuity" since we have the Bible and we are to listen to that. We are to listen to the Apostles, 1 John 1/3,2/19,4/6, 5/19 and no one else, and their word has come down to us in the Bible. That is the true God given Authority. To say otherwise is to elevate men above both the Bible and the Apostles, God's hand picked and prepared men commissioned for the very purpose of giving us the Bible, the more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts.

The Roman Catholic Church openly does just that. It claims authority above the Apostles and the Bible through it's "tradition" and "infallibility" and claims of salvation only through itself and it's claims of excommunication - none of which has any shred of support from the Bible.

Most people’s criticism of the church today is in fact a criticism of the Roman Catholic teachings and practices which are in fact an abominable misrepresentation of God and His ways. Many, many have been deceived at this point.

As you astutely point out, how can ungodly men ever presume to give forgiveness to people who most likely are less sinful than themselves, is a bitter and sick joke practised by these arch deceivers and proud haters of God.

Your question goes to the heart of the enemies of God.

Answer 2

One of the principle scriptures that shows the authority given to priests by Jesus is John 20:21–23, "As the Father has sent me, even so I send you. . . . Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained".

There are others as well. If you’d like to see them and get more information: see these links:
http://catholic.com/library/Confession.asp
http://www.scripturecatholic.com/confession.html

As far as the Church’s history, Jesus said, “Whoever is without sin, cast the first stone.” People are constantly finding fault with the entire Church and the Faith because of the sins of a few men instead of focusing on the FAITH, which is perfect and pure.

A priest is a sinful man, just like you and I. Whether his sins are minor or major, the moral state of the man in no way affects his priestly authority. The reason is because his authority comes from God. In the confessional, it is the power of the Holy Spirit that absolves, not the man. God’s power is outside of the reach of human sinfulness which is why the absolution is not affected by the instrumental man.

Hope this helps. God bless.

Answer 3

Priests have the authority from God after they have been ordained. Priests do not absolve you from your sins,God does. The Priest is a mediator between God and the person who is confessing their sins. The Catholic Church was the first universal Church founded by God .All other denominations came later.
I am absolutely amazed at some of the answers in this post. They have no idea what they are saying.And some of the ridiculous answers are by Christians. They claim to know all about the Catholic Church and what it teaches but they are not Catholic themselves.They often quote the "Bible,but which version.?The Jewish Bible. the Catholic Bible,the Protestant Bible.They are all significantly different from one another.Plus there are over 50 different versions of the Bible in English alone.!They should get their facts straight before they ridicule somebodys religion .The Devil is winning souls from God with his deceitful ways
EDIT.......
One answerer said "THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS PROBABLY THE MAIN SOURCE OF THE MAJORITY OF PROBLEMS IN THE WORLD TODAY" Ok where is your proof? what evidence have you got ? Have you said this out of frustration because you have to blame somebody?What about Terrorism and Corrupt Governments? The worlds starving people? .What have you done to contribute to the world's problems.? Nothing? . God made everybody .God loves everybody. God has asked us to love everybody also.Not what they do, or belong to, or follow a certain religion. None of this comes into it. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE is what God would like us to have for every person He ever created because thats what He gives to everyone.. This is why it is hard at times to love someone like you.But if i don't love you ,I don't love God. It is that simple. It is the most important part of the Catholic faith we try to do and you don't need the Bible to tell you what you have to do. Love is the only thing that matters. Do you have unconditional love for all of God's children ?Pope John Paul 11 forgave the man who tried to kill him.Could you do that?
Somebody said "idol worship." What are you talking about ?

Answer 4

John 20:23

Answer 5

It is blaspheme. 1 John 2:1, "My little children, these things
write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous". Did John just say to get a priest, to ask Jesus, to ask the
Father? No, he didn't.

Luke 12:3, Jesus says, "...and that which ye have spoken in
the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the house tops".
Doesn't this describe the confessional/closets where sins
are whispered into a priests ear? No, this is a disgrace.

The keys of the kingdom which was given is the Holy Spirit,
upon which Christ has built his church; these keys open our
spiritual eyes and ears to know the mysteries of God. This
is how Peter knew who Jesus was and how Paul was taught
Gal 1:12. Luke 11:52, Jesus says, "Woe unto you, lawyers!
for ye have taken away the KEY OF KNOWLEDGE: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in
ye hindered". They hinder with their lies, but they won't prevail, for the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Answer 6

Because Jesus Christ told His Apostles that whatever sins they forgive on earth will be forgiven in heaven.... whatever is retained on earth will be retained in heaven. Catholic Priests are within that line of Apostolic Succession. The Priest is merely a vessel....a conduit... that Christ operates through. The man who is the Priest is just that... a man. He alone has no power or authority. It is Christ who operates through him.

Jesus therefore said to them again, "Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and *said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained. (NASB) John 20:21-23

You ask, "Is that blasphemous?" Answer: Not hardly.

You also ask, "Does any man have the authority to speak in God's name?" And, "Does the Bible specifically give specifically appointed men this authority - to absolve in God's name?" Answer: Yes it absolutely does. Read John 20:23 as well as other places in the Gospels and New Testament.

Answer 7

Try reading mathew chapter 10. It talks about sending forth apostles out by 2, and if I understand it right when miraculous cures occur in the gospel, usually the person's sins are forgiven. Jesus didn't say bring them to me and I will forgive them their sins, he gave them authority to forgive sins. There is authority within the church established to peter (mat 16:18). If there is no authority within the Catholic Church then there is no christian church established by Christ, unless we leap ahead 1800 years?

Answer 8

Yes.

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 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.

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 9

I read several of these answers and realize how ignorant of the entire Biblical story so many people are...They don't realize why Yeshua/Jesus came as the Messiah in the first place.
These are probably the same ones who claim the entire Old Testament is obsolete because of Hebrews 8...that one cannot be both a Messianic Jew and a Christian...that Messianic Judaisn got started as late as the 1970's Common Era...and it's ok to observe pagan holidays like Christ-mass, Ishtar/Easter and the 8th day- Sunday service.

According to the entire Bible-all 56 chapters--only 2 groups of people were ever directly given the power by G-D Himself to tell people they were forgiven of their sins.--Aaron and his sons, and their descendants.....and the Apostles.

The first time was in Exodus 28 and in chapters after, when G-D SEPARATED Aaron and HIS SONS (3 words in caps will be discussed later) to become the priests. How they would dress-BREASTPLATE and TURBAN-what they would do-MAKE THE SACRIFICES AND GIFTS for ATONEMENT-and that their reward would not be of the Promised Land, but of the current wealth, the tithes, the breasts and thighs and meat of the animals that were offered for atonement. They would be responsible for making sure the people stayed true to the Law of Moses, to the L-RD's word. The Law given to Moses on Mt. Sinai was not the first, but it is what would be considered the OLD Testament/Covenant, and the priests were the ones separated and ordained by G-D to make sure it was upheld.
But, in both books, the greatest commandment was to LOVE ONE G-D, AND ONE G-D ONLY, AND HAVE NONE OTHER. Yet, who was it who ordered that the Golden Calf be built? And why was it a GOLDEN BULL CALF? What had Aaron been promised? He had been promised whatever part of the calf put on the altar that does not go to Heaven would be his as the priest.
It would be this way for centuries to come. Then HaShem spoke to prophets. He said there would be a New Covenant. No longer would man be the one assigned as the High Priest, because man's iniquities were not above flaws. They were so into the wealth, that the ones assigned to be the rabbis, the priests, had neglected the sheep and let them scatter, go astray.

In Jeremaiah 31:31-34, The L-RD decrees there would be a New Covenant, a New Testament, and in Ezekeil 34 He explains what it would be---that each man would be judged by himself, and that G-D and his servant David, a man, would come to the earth to heal the sick, to bind the injured, to retrieve the lost sheep, to get those who were not yet in the spirit into the spirit. And He would judge each sheep by itself, no longer needing one in the middle.
In Isaiah 53:12, it was said that the servant, the same one that Jeremaiah and Ezekiel, and Daniel and others prophesied, would come and He would be above sin, and he would take on the sins of others, and "would make intercession for the transgressors."
When Jesus came, He came as Man, but He was G-D n the flesh, the servant David that had been prophesied.
Those who opposed Him were the Pharisees, which means "the separated ones," so they were the descendants of Aaron, and those who followed Aaron and his sons...
The whole reason then, that Jesus came to Earth was to wipe out the system of having those who were fallible themselves making sacrifices for others...This was the part of the Old testament that was made obsolete--see Hebrews 7:27.
It was not the beliefs of the Jewish people that was obsolete, nor the Law of Moses, it was the anointment of men to do what only G-D--as G-D and as Jesus/Yeshua--could do.

When Yeshua/Jesus appointed the 12 Apostles, He never said that They AND THEIR FOLLOWERS were to purify others. He knew the Apostles had NO SONS. They would be able to spread the word, to tell people that the Resurrection brought with it the arrival of the Holy Spirit, and that each man and woman was now able to search his/her own heart, and if they followed in the ways of the Messiah-Yeshua-Jesus, then they would be forgiven for their sins. The fact that 2,000 years later we know about Yeshua, we know that G-D fulfilled His promise to bring the lost sheep back, is proof that the Apostles did what they were supposed to do---they spread the word about the Holy Spirit.

The Apostles were fulfillments of prophesies: Malachi:3:3 And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

Jesus did sit with the Apostles--all of them were Levites, Jews who were assigned by HaShem to be the priests, to spread the words. Even Paul, who received the word from HaShem Himself, had been a Pharisee--one who had been separated, one who hailed from the Levites. And Paul, blinded, was made to sit and see the Truth, and be purified...His heart was turned from one who wanted to kill the blasphemes to one which loved others and saw the followers as the true Jews, the True Christians, and realized THERE IS NO CONTRADICTION IN BEING A TRUE JEW AND A TRUE CHRISTIAN...BOTH ARE FOLLOWING THE ENTIRE BOOK...It was man who made a Jew different, who decreed that the New Testament, which was prophesied in the Book he follows, did not apply to him...and it was man who decreed that the Old Testament, which was changed only in that it went from being "with G-D" to being "G-D" when Jesus appeared to proclaim our salvation, was not to be followed.

Hebrews NEVER SAID THAT THE ENTIRE LAW WAS OBSOLETE, only the part of the Law that the Catholics hold onto--man's interceding for other men---was made obsolete. There was no longer a need for it...READ JEREMAIAH, READ MATTHEW 5:17, READ THE RED LETTERS AND COMPARE THEM TO THE ORIGINAL BOOK...

Both the rabbinic Jews, who followed the Pharisees who followed the Levites, who followed Aaron and his sons...and the Catholics who followed the Popes, Bishops, etc....made the same mistake--they have followed the words of man, the interpretations of others who were fallible and mortal...

The Book is there to be read...from Genesis, to Revelation...It has all the answers....The Catholic church was established so that there was a place to remember Jesus, because the rabbinic Jews denied the truth...but the Catholics deny the truth and have made the same mistake...They moved the Sabbath from the 7th day, the day of rest, to the 8th day, which in a 7-day week, is the 1st day again...They chose to follow man, not G-D who appeared as Man so we could understand what His word meant when we moved from the world of the flesh to the world of the Spirit.

They moved Christmas from the time of the cesnsus (fall) to the same day as a pre-existing Roman pagan god's birthday....They moved the Resurrection from Passover, when being leavened makes a difference, to Easter, the celebration day of another Roman god's birthday....They make kissing a Pope's ring important when Jesus said to sell your possessions, which means to make the spirit more important than any material item....They wrote the book and have no idea what is in it...

Answer 10

Well officially a priest is supposed to be god's representative on earth. Truly devout priests will tell you that god has spoken to them and picked them out to do this job (vocation or whatever you want to call it) and that they have to do it. Their training and their faith is such that they are the conduit for god's message/word etc.. so it's not the priest themselves who are absolving sin.

Answer 11

preists are under the authority of satan since the end of the church age. so they really have no way to absolve you from your sins but satan wants people to think that he is the judge.