do catholics confess to the pope or to the priest and why, show from the bible, (again)?

Answer 1

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.

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).

Answer 2

Father K was thorough in giving the Scripture verses. It is true that in the early Church there were public confessions but as someone mentioned this cause scandal and the practice was started for private confession. It was always the priest or bishop that granted absolution through the authority given by
Christ to the Church and is passed on through apostolic succession. this practice has nothing to do with the common belief of all Christians that Christ is the sole mediator between man and the Father as the priest in all
Sacraments is acting in persona Christi.

In Christ
Fr. Joseph

Answer 3

Hello,

You confess through the priest but your confessing to God.
I recall the bible mentions confessing your sins to each other and don't some Protestant churches require public confessions?

That said, the Catholic church had public confession in the middle ages but eventually it was dropped because confessions became a boasting forum telling how many men you slew, wenches you bedded and tankards of ale or wine one polished off!

Cheers,

Michael Kelly

Answer 4

The Sacrament is called reconciliation and it is based on Sacred tradition as well as recorded in the scriptures. Christ bestowed the power upon his Apostles and it has now been handed down through Apostolic succession within the Roman Catholic Church.

"‘As the Father has sent me, even so I 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, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’" (John 20:21–23). (This is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man, the other being in Genesis 2:7, when he made man a living soul. It emphasizes how important the establishment of the sacrament of penance was.)

Answer 5

Priests and the Pope is a priest.

Answer 6

well I doubt that americans can all fly to rome each day for confession. thats why we have priests, as given the authority from christ himself to forgive or hold sin bound. catholics beleive the bible, and for that we are persecuted for our faith.

Answer 7

+PAX

I see there's no need for my answer (again) as the good Fathers et al have the question well done.

For those who still do not understand these facts from Scripture, I pray the scales fall from your eyes and your hearts open to even the thought of learning something new.

Merry Christmas and God Bless you all,
j

Answer 8

Yes and no. Yes I think the comments here represent a very real reality about how many people think about the Church. That there are extreme fundamentalists with very warped interpretations of history. That there are active atheists who hate the Church for existing and the Catholics are the biggest and most lampoonable target. That there are plenty of narcissistic sycophants out there who suck up misinformation and propaganda like the Da Vinci code and just like to have a group to run down - which becomes perhaps the most scary of the groups. On the other hand I think the bulk of protestants are learning more about Catholic traditions and are not our enemies. I do think there is a possibility of totalitarian anti-religion regimes in the developed western countries in the next century. I'm not so worried about direct violence and mass murder, but imprisonment for speaking about our faith, removing children from homes for religious beliefs, etc. yes. All under the guise of tolerance and liberty of course, But totalitarianism never uses truth in advertising.

Answer 9

I went to confession today. I feel great! I have been given Grace....
Either you believe, or you don't. Are you trying to convert to Catholicism? I'm sure a bunch of us will help you! :)
God Bless!

Answer 10

they can't show it from the Bible. Hebrews clearly states there is one mediator between God and man - the Lord Jesus.

It is good however to confess sins to one another, in the sense of accoutability, to help each other grow and change, but as far as getting forgiveness or absolution from a priest, the only one who can truly do it is the only great high priest after the order of Melchizedek, Jesus Christ.