Ah Ha ! Now back off your position eh !! Don’t have the evidence from scripture or tradition … do you ?
From
Confession and the Bible:Anyone who makes the claim that there is no foundation for the practice of confession of sins before a priest in the Bible, reveals an abysmal ignorance of what is actually written in the Bible. Several statements of our Lord unmistakably and directly command the Apostles to forgive sins in His name and with His authority. Several statements of St. Paul are also extremely direct in this matter.
The most obvious statement of Christ in regard to the Sacrament of Penance is found in the Gospel of St. John. After His Resurrection, Jesus confers authority upon the Apostles and tells them: “Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you. . . Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; whose sins you do not forgive, they are not forgiven.” (Jn 20:22-23) What could be more obvious than this statement? How anyone could say the Sacrament of Penance is man’s invention after reading this passage, would require some amazing verbal acrobatics! Note that the Apostles were commanded to forgive sins. How were they to forgive sins and judge which sins to forgive or not forgive, unless they know the sins? If a man’s sins were to be forgiven, they, therefore, had to first be revealed.
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The Epistles of St. Paul provide us with further evidence concerning the Church’s power to judge sins. The incident from the Church in Corinth is especially to be noted in this regard. In the fifth chapter of the First Epistle to the Corinthians St. Paul writes that he has heard of a case of incest in the Corinthian community. He goes on to say: “The man who has done such a thing should be expelled from your fellowship. And even though I am far away from you in body, still I am there with you in spirit; and as though I were there with you, I have in the name of our Lord Jesus already passed judgment on the man who has done this terrible thing. As you meet together, and I meet with you in my spirit, by the power of our Lord Jesus present with us, you are to hand this man over to Satan for his body to be destroyed, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord.” (I Cor. 5:3-5) St. Paul is here actually pronouncing excommunication from the Church on the unrepentant sinner. Notice that he speaks of passing judgment in the name of Jesus. Isn’t this exactly what the priest is expected to do in the Sacrament of Penance; to pass judgment on the sin and on the sinner’s sincerity of repentance?
We also find in St. Paul’s writings the earliest statement of absolution by an Apostle. He says:
“When you forgive someone for what he has done, I forgive him too. For when I forgive — if, indeed, I need to forgive anything — I do it in Christ’s presence because of you, in order to keep Satan from getting the upper hand over us; for we know what his plans are.” (II Cor. 2:10-11) Paul pronounces forgiveness for the repentant sinner! It is possible then for a man to know the sins of another man and to pronounce forgiveness of these sins, if the sinner has shown signs of repentance.
When the priest of the Church hears confession, imposes penance and pronounces absolution, he does so with the authority of the Lord and in the name of the Lord and, as was hopefully demonstrated by this article, at the direct command of the Lord.
