Confession to a priest vs non-catholic priest vs other christians

[kjack2222]

Bit of a chain of questions here. Many people ask why confess to a priest instead of directly to God. What I’m having difficulty with is the fact that all the reasons I’ve heard given - physically hearing someone forgive you, literally and symbolically being brought back into the community by being forgiven by a member of the community, open and direct recognition of sins, etc. - these all just sort of seem like “added bonuses” for confession. Important and beautiful, but to another non-Catholic Christian these things don’t seem like they’d be very compelling? At least to the point that it makes confession to a priest seem imperative, rather than just another really good option. Especially when sins can be directly confessed to God and forgiven by Jesus. So why confession to a priest (convice me as if I’m not Catholic)?

Follow up questions would be: why not confess to other Christians (there’s a line in the Bible that’s often interpreted to okay this) and ask Jesus to impart his forgiveness in the interaction? If Jesus gave the power to forgive sins to the apostles why do we interpret that as applying only to Catholic priests? What about Christian preists/pastors? What about the apostles that are lay people? Can we say anything about the validity of confessions not made to Priests (without it being judgement)?

Ok. All done with the slew of questions

 

[anon64704623]

[John 14:6] “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
[John 9:31] “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.”
[1 Timothy 2:5] “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus”

and

[Matthew 16:19] "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
[James 5:16] “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

 

[Vico]

Bit of a chain of questions here. Many people ask why confess to a priest instead of directly to God. What I’m having difficulty with is the fact that all the reasons I’ve heard given - physically hearing someone forgive you, literally and symbolically being brought back into the community by being forgiven by a member of the community, open and direct recognition of sins, etc. - these all just sort of seem like “added bonuses” for confession. Important and beautiful, but to another non-Catholic Christian these things don’t seem like they’d be very compelling? At least to the point that it makes confession to a priest seem imperative, rather than just another really good option. Especially when sins can be directly confessed to God and forgiven by Jesus. So why confession to a priest (convice me as if I’m not Catholic)?

Follow up questions would be: why not confess to other Christians (there’s a line in the Bible that’s often interpreted to okay this) and ask Jesus to impart his forgiveness in the interaction? If Jesus gave the power to forgive sins to the apostles why do we interpret that as applying only to Catholic priests? What about Christian preists/pastors? What about the apostles that are lay people? Can we say anything about the validity of confessions not made to Priests (without it being judgement)?

Ok. All done with the slew of questions

The Catholic Church is protected from dogmatic errors by the Holy Spirit and is given the power to bind and loose sin when Jesus imparted to his apostles his own power to forgive sins – Jesus gave them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church.

Catholic Encyclopedia:

… with the coming of Luther and his doctrine of justification by faith alone the absolute necessity of contrition was excluded as by a natural consequence. the clear teaching of the Council of Trent (Sess. XIV, iv).

And as to that imperfect contrition which is called attrition, because it is commonly conceived either from the consideration of the turpitude of sin, or from the fear of hell and of punishment, the council declares that if with the hope of pardon, it excludes the wish to sin, it not only does not make man a hypocrite and a greater sinner, but that it is even a gift of God, and an impulse of the Holy Spirit, who does not indeed as yet dwell in the penitent, but who only moves him whereby the penitent, being assisted, prepares a way for himself unto justice, and although this attrition cannot of itself, without the Sacrament of Penance, conduct the sinner to justification yet does it dispose him to receive the grace of God in the Sacrament of Penance. For smitten profitably with fear, the Ninivites at the preaching of Jonas did fearful penance and obtained mercy from Lord.

Attrition

Hanna, E. (1907). Attrition. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02065a.htm

Contrition

Hanna, E. (1908). Contrition. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04337a.htm

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Why confess to a priest instead of directly to God…
So why confession to a priest (convince me as if I’m not Catholic)?

Confession to God means little as God already knows our sins. Christ said to confess our sins to one another, and gave His Apostles to power to bind and loose.

Why not confess to other Christians… and ask Jesus to impart his forgiveness in the interaction?

That is what the Sacrament of Penance is.

If Jesus gave the power to forgive sins to the apostles why do we interpret that as applying only to Catholic priests? What about Christian priests/pastors?

It is not just Catholic priests who can absolve sins. Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox clergy with valid Holy Orders can absolve. Protestants do not have valid clergy with valid Orders.

What about the apostles that are lay people? Can we say anything about the validity of confessions not made to Priests (without it being judgement)?

There were no lay Apostles. It was a calling. The bishops are the Successors of the Apostles.

 

[Reuben_J]

You said, “… forgiven by Jesus.”

Who can be Jesus?

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the priest is in persona Christie - in the person of Jesus.

Not all can be priests (as in ministerial priesthood) but those who are validly ordained by Bishop with apostolic succession.

 

[MT1926]

these all just sort of seem like “added bonuses” for confession.

People tend to ignore the OT. The OT is important because it shows us how God was preparing us for the coming of Christ. It’s not just a bunch of books that show us how things were in the old days and how Christ chucked that book out the window and wrote the NT.

Confession, penance and reconciliation have always been a part of God’s plan.

Genesis 3 God was looking for contrition. Instead Adam blamed Eve, Eve blamed the serpent.

As our creator God knows we need ritual to help us order our lives.

Leviticus 5:5-6
5 When a man is guilty in any of these, he shall confess the sin he has committed, 6 and he shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord for the sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat, for a sin offering; and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.

Notice we have God insisting on an out loud confession to the priest. Then gives the sinner a liturgical act of sacrifice and penance. So they had to say they were sorry and then show that they meant it.

And notice it is the priest that shall make atonement for the sinner.

This wasn’t easy for the Israelites. This had to be done in the temple. You had to butcher the animal and hand the parts to the priest.

It is important to point out that these sacrifices did not force God to forgive them.

The rituals God instituted were for their benefit not His. He forgave out of love.

This was still in practice in Jesus time and would have been foremost on the Apostles minds when Jesus said…

John 20:21-23
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

When the Apostles heard these words they would have understood that they are now the Priests of the New Covenant. They would have also understood that as Priest’s it was their responsibility to make atonement for the sinner.

Christ gave the Apostles the power to administer the sacraments.

We need to understand that this is not a new idea to the people of the day. It would actually be expected as a continuation of the Old Covenant.

Hope this helps,

God Bless

 

[MT1926]

Especially when sins can be directly confessed to God and forgiven by Jesus. So why confession to a priest (convice me as if I’m not Catholic)?

Where does the Bible state “ALL” sin can be confessed directly to God?

Some might point towards…

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

However, keep in mind that this just says “confess” to say this means directly to God is reading that into the text. Especially, since this is the same St. John who wrote John 20:21-23.

Also, keep in mind that the word “confess” in the Bible (and to the Jews of that time) is something you do with your lips, not in the silence of your heart.

Mark 1:5
5 And there went out to him all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

Romans 10:10
10 For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved.

James 5:16
16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power in its effects.

As Catholics we believe “Venial” sins can be confessed directly to God. Heck we do it all the time when we pray the Lord’s Prayer…Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors;

However it is evident that there are sins that are mortal…

1 John 5:16-17
16 If any one sees his brother committing what is not a mortal sin, he will ask, and God[a] will give him life for those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin which is mortal; I do not say that one is to pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal.

As a Catholic we believe that ordinarily, mortal sins can not be forgiven apart from absolution and restorative grace of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

We don’t confess to the Priest cause God can’t get the job done on His own. God set it up this way for our benefit.

Read about Jesus physical cures in the Bible. He used outwards signs to perform a deeper more lasting spiritual healing.

Notice he used physical means. Mud, spittle, spoken words, and eye contact…… WHY? Because he knows as human beings we learn through our senses. So he brought it down to our level

God knows we learn through our senses, so he set the sacraments up to appeal to our humanity.
The sacraments use physical matter but provide supernatural and natural benefits.

The Sacraments don’t take anything away from God. They actually are a sign of how much He Loves us.

Hope this helps,

God Bless

 

[MT1926]

Follow up questions would be: why not confess to other Christians (there’s a line in the Bible that’s often interpreted to okay this) and ask Jesus to impart his forgiveness in the interaction?

We should. If you wrong someone you should confess to them ans ask their forgivness.

On a side note why would you confess some mortal sin to just some other Christian? Think about it, is it fair of you to place the burden of your sin on someone that is not called to this life as a successor of the Apostles? Some people think the Priest is either sitting there going wow this is juicy stuff or ho hum I’m board. They don’t realize the burden they are bearing. I’ve heard of Priests losing sleep and suffering anxiety from hearing confessions. Could you imagine taking on someone else’s burden and not being able to speak of it to others?

We need to pray for the strength of our Priests, hearing confessions is not as easy as some think. Why on earth would anyone believe the Catholic Church just came up with this concept because they wanted to put a burden on their members?

If Jesus gave the power to forgive sins to the apostles why do we interpret that as applying only to Catholic priests?

Line of succession. If some local pastor, who decided to start his own church, wants to claim that Jesus gave him this power the burden of proof is on him.

Can we say anything about the validity of confessions not made to Priests (without it being judgement)?

Sure some are valid some aren’t.

Back to the Lord’s Prayer…as WE forgive those who trespass against US.

Hope this helps,

God Bless

 

[Gorgias]

Many people ask why confess to a priest instead of directly to God.

Because absolution by an apostle is what Jesus commands (John 20:22). Apostles aren’t Jesus – they don’t know what sins to forgive unless they’ve been told. Having been given the power “to bind and loose”, the Church decided to allow that grant of authority to forgive sins to apostolic successors and their priests.

sins can be directly confessed to God and forgiven by Jesus.

Does Jesus tell us about confession to God that leads to His forgiveness?

why not confess to other Christians (there’s a line in the Bible that’s often interpreted to okay this)

Your talking about the letter of John? He makes sure to tell us that this isn’t possible for grave sin!

If Jesus gave the power to forgive sins to the apostles why do we interpret that as applying only to Catholic priests?

The Church, having being given authority, used that authority twice in the present context:

• Apostolic succession – so, the bishops, as apostles, had the same ability to forgive sins (that Jesus would then forgive)
• the office of the priesthood – so priests, as co-workers in the vineyard, likewise are able to forgive sins that Jesus forgives.

What about Christian preists/pastors?

They’re not part of apostolic succession, and therefore, they do not share in the authority granted by Christ.

What about the apostles that are lay people?

Umm… who would that be?

Can we say anything about the validity of confessions not made to Priests (without it being judgement)?

We can say that the act of confessing is valid, but that no valid absolution (and therefore, forgiveness by Jesus) necessarily takes place, with respect to what Jesus promises us.

 

[veritatisstella]

Many people ask why confess to a priest instead of directly to God.

Main reason is because God made this a requirement for forgiveness of mortal sins. The Sacrament of Penance/Reconciliation is a gift from God because by it we can have complete assurance of forgiveness. A common Protestant error is that we can be certain our sins have been forgiven by just praying to God. As Catholics we do not presume to have such certainty until we have received the sacrament God instituted specifically for that purpose.

Follow up questions would be: why not confess to other Christians

We could but if the other Christians we confess to aren’t validly ordained priests, they do not have the power to grant us sacramental absolution of our sins. You can receive valid absolution from an Orthodox priest because they have valid ordination, but not from an Anglican minister, because Anglican ordination is not valid.

If Jesus gave the power to forgive sins to the apostles why do we interpret that as applying only to Catholic priests?

He gave this power to the apostles and to their successors. The apostles ordained successors who in turn ordained further successors, and this chain continues to this day.

Can we say anything about the validity of confessions not made to Priests (without it being judgement)?

Any confession not made to a priest cannot be a sacrament, because only priests have the power of conferring this sacrament.

 

[JohnPaulCabral1]

the Priest, is in Persona Christi, not only at the Altar, but also when hearing confessions, so it is Christ really you are confessing to. so when people say ‘Confess your sins to no man’ just remember In persona Christi.

 

[margaret42]

If we confessed our sins to only a human being, one who doesn’t represent Christ, -as does a Catholic priest-, they wouldn’t have the absolving power that Christ gave to an apostle. Jesus called his apostles, whom He chose, to represent Him, and then we hear the words of authority that could be used in place of Christ, as He would be later ascended into heaven.

 

[JohnPaulCabral1]

very well said

 

[Dan_Defender]

I would add that historically, this has been the practice of the Church. So the burden of proof is on the non-Catholic Christian to prove that the direct-to-God confession was encouraged and practiced from the beginning.