Why isn’t my confession to God sufficient? The bible says that I do not need an intermediary. Is this just tradition or based on some other authoritative source?
In John 20:21 when Jesus appeared to his Apostles in the upper room on Easter Sunday evening He said: " ‘Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so am I sending you.’ After saying this he breathed on them and said: ’ Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.’"
With such words Jesus took the matter out of the penetent’s hands and put it into the hands of his priests. He not only gave them the power to forgive sins, he also gave them authority to objectively discern when to use such power and when to withhold it.
This is not something that he said to all of his followers, but only to those he had chosen to lead his Church.
DISCLAIMER: Catholic Answers has turned over the archive to Catholic-Questions.org and no longer owns, manages, or moderates the forums. For additional apologetics resources please visit www.catholic.com.
