Authority of Priest

[ganzverwirrt]

I have been curious:
What gives the priest his authority, particularly in terms of confession?

Why is it more “legitimate” to confess our sins to a priest, rather than to God himself? What does this accomplish? What right does a priest (a human being) have to know and pass judgment on our sins?

Can you still be a good Catholic without actually going to Confession? After all, you could be sincerely sorry for your sins without going to Confession, and we often say a public confession during mass.

If we have to confess our sins, isn’t this public confession actually better than the private confession?

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut!

 

[Tedster]

I have been curious:
What gives the priest his authority, particularly in terms of confession?

The Church.

Why is it more “legitimate” to confess our sins to a priest, rather than to God himself?

Since the Church does not recognize any other form of confession, the former is the ONLY legitimate form of confession.

What does this accomplish?

Full remission of sins.

What right does a priest (a human being) have to know and pass judgment on our sins?

The right that is afforded him by his office, that of priest. Just an FYI, the priest does not pass judgment, that is left solely to God himself. The priest can only forgive on the behalf of God.

Can you still be a good Catholic without actually going to Confession? After all, you could be sincerely sorry for your sins without going to Confession, and we often say a public confession during mass.

No. The Church says you must confess your sins at least once per year, in the normal prescription of the sacrament.

If we have to confess our sins, isn’t this public confession actually better than the private confession?

No. Since the Church doesn’t recognize a public confession.

Here is an article that can help you better understand what the Church teaches:

Catholic Encyclopedia on Reconciliation

Hope this helps.

 

[Mrschocolate42]

The priest has the “authority” to hear confession and more incredible than that, he has the role of participating and cooperating with Jesus in bringing us the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist. This makes hearing our confessions easier to accept if you think about it!!! That being said, I do think this is a good question. If you don’t question you can’t know and learn. The Church, which is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, gives authority to bishops by the laying on of hands since the beginning of the birth of the church when Jesus breathed on the apostles and said to forgive men’s sins. The bishop gives over authority to the individual priest to work on his behalf. For a Catholic priest to hear confession, a Catholic bishop would have to give over that authority. It is the same authority that the apostles were given by Jesus in the Bible. This “authority” is an essential belief in order to be Catholic with a big C. We must acknowledge and accept that the Church was given the authority to continue to spread the Good News of the Gospel by Jesus through the apostles and down through the generations by the laying on of hands. The Church magistarium, that is the pope and bishops, are called to continue to spread the Truth of Jesus that has been handed on from Sacred Scripture and Tradition. We, the lay people, are obligated to follow their leadership just as we are obligated to follow Jesus. This is our covenant that we make through the Sacraments. One of those sacraments, reconciliation, is the physical act of examining our conscience, asking for forgiveness, and offering sacrifice as atonement when we can. We trust that Jesus handles the rest. God has provided us with a physical means to participate in a spiritual reality. All of the sacraments are gifts from God that allow us to enter into the spiritual reality with our Bodies. Jesus became man to show us how to be holy as human beings. I could just go on and on…The sacraments are such gifts from God. We should focus on that moment in the confessional as a chance to sit face to face with Jesus. The priest is acting as our intersessor and joins and suffers with us and with Jesus in our healing. Don’t miss the gift the priest is offering. They have sacrificed their entire selves to be Jesus in the world for us. St. Teresa of Avilla pointed out that Jesus no longer walks the earth. We must be his hands and his feet. The priest must say his words. The priest stands in for Jesus. We are not telling our sins to a priest. We are telling our sins face to face with God. Pretty radical!!! but true.

 

[brandymmiller]

The authority of the priesthood comes from Jesus Christ (see John 20:20-23). When the priest enters the confessional booth, you are no longer standing in the presence of a man but one who is in “persona Christi” or the “Person of Christ”. Furthermore, w find in James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, tha tyou may be healed. The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful.”

Sin is a disease of the soul. Toward that end, it requres healing. This is the reason that the Church calls the Sacrament of Reconciliation one of two Sacraments of healing. (The sacraments are signs of God’s love). If you had a serious infection, you would go and consult a physician. The physician, being well trained in all manner of sickness, can then help you to find the source of your sickness, advise you on how to avoid it in the future, and give you a prescription to cure what ails you. The priest, acting in the person of Christ and in union with the Holy Spirit, is a physician for the soul.

It is a sad fact about sin that the deeper in it we are the more trouble we have admitting that we need help. It requires a high level of humility to admit to another person, even the person of Christ, that we have done wrong. However, there is great healing in this. It is also true that the deeper in sin we are the more likely we are to have justified our sins to ourselves or made light of what is very serious in order to relieve ourselves of the burden of guilt caused by the sin. We need someone who is objective, someone who genuinely cares about our soul and wants the best for us, to help us. We need a physical presence to remind us of the spiritual reality. This, in summary, is why we there is confession.

 

[Robbinson]

I agree with prior posts. In summary:

Jesus specifically gave the apostles the power to forgive sins. John 20:23 (If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.") The apostles conveyed this power and authority to their successors (apostolic succession) and empowered the priests, who assist them and the Bishops in their duties to Christ, to serve this function.

As noted in the earlier post, we were also urged to confess our sins. Being given the power to forgive sins (but not the power of mind reading), we need to confess our sins to the Priest in order that they may be forgiven.

We can always pray and confess our sins to God directly who is certainly capable of forgiving our sins - but Jesus specifically empowered and directed the apostles to assist.

Christ remains the sole mediator between us and God the Father, the fact that he empowered others to assist or play a role in spiritual matters does not detract from His ultimate authority.

Blessings,

Brian

 

[teachccd]

Just as a side note with no theological basis: It perplexes me how so many people will go pay good money to pour out their most private concerns to psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and even Dr. Phil but shudder at going to confession. The reason that we seek counseling from so many other areas is because it is inherently hardwired in us to seek the compassion and care of others. And Jesus offers this as an infinite gift through the priest in the confessional. He made us this way so that we would go…teachccd

 

[rwoehmke]

I have been curious:
What gives the priest his authority, particularly in terms of confession? etc…

Why do you ask?

 

[thistle]

I have been curious:
What gives the priest his authority, particularly in terms of confession?

Why is it more “legitimate” to confess our sins to a priest, rather than to God himself? What does this accomplish? What right does a priest (a human being) have to know and pass judgment on our sins?

Can you still be a good Catholic without actually going to Confession? After all, you could be sincerely sorry for your sins without going to Confession, and we often say a public confession during mass.

If we have to confess our sins, isn’t this public confession actually better than the private confession?

Thanks for your (name removed by moderator)ut!

I like your name. ganzverwirrt - completely confused.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

I have been curious:
What gives the priest his authority, particularly in terms of confession?

God.

Mt 9:2-8 - Son of man has authority to forgive sins
Jn 20:23 - whose sins you forgive/retain are forgiven/retained
Jn 20:22 - As the Father sent me, I send you (breathed on them, giving them this authority)
2 Cor 5:17-20 - given us the ministry of reconciliation
James 5:13-15 - prayer of presbyter forgives sins
James 5:16 - confess your sins to one another
Mt 18:18 - whatever you bind/loose on earth, so it is in heaven
Lk 10:16 - whoever hears you, hears me; rejects you, rejects me

Why is it more “legitimate” to confess our sins to a priest, rather than to God himself?

Both are legitimate. However, if God gave this authority to his presbyters for our necessity, is it legitimate to reject, especially in light of Him saying, “Those that reject you, reject me?” Our salvation is a “team” effort, having nothing to do with a “just me and God” soteriology.

Can you still be a good Catholic without actually going to Confession?

No. You cannot be a “good Catholic” while obstinately denying the doctrines and laws of the Church.

 

[Erich]

The Church, which is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic, gives authority to bishops by the laying on of hands since the beginning of the birth of the church when Jesus breathed on the apostles and said to forgive men’s sins.

Jesus would not have given them this authority if He did not expect them to use it (i.e. by hearing confessions).

 

[Mrschocolate42]

Just as a side note with no theological basis: It perplexes me how so many people will go pay good money to pour out their most private concerns to psychologists, psychiatrists, counselors, and even Dr. Phil but shudder at going to confession. The reason that we seek counseling from so many other areas is because it is inherently hardwired in us to seek the compassion and care of others. And Jesus offers this as an infinite gift through the priest in the confessional. He made us this way so that we would go…teachccd

As a psychologist myself, I can tell you that you make an excellent point that I often mention to others. People pay incredible money to ask my advice and often it is over moral questions, not psychological ones. Confession is not, however, therapy. When I go to confession I don’t want therapy. I want to be forgiven, not something any psychologist can do for you!!!

 

[teachccd]

As a psychologist myself, I can tell you that you make an excellent point that I often mention to others. People pay incredible money to ask my advice and often it is over moral questions, not psychological ones. Confession is not, however, therapy. When I go to confession I don’t want therapy. I want to be forgiven, not something any psychologist can do for you!!!

Absolutely! Confession is NOT therapy and was never intended to be. I was, as you noted, merely mentioning that for those who are afraid to speak to someone concerning personal issues would feel fine pouring out their heart to a psychologist but shudder at the thought of going to a priest. Thank you for confirming my observation and allowing others to see first hand from a psychologist: first of all the need to talk and secondly the healing value of confession…God Bless…teachccd