Why do Catholics confess their sins to priests and not God?
“Catholics always confess their sins to God. They do it directly as well as through His ministers because that is what God requires, as clearly taught in Scripture.” Read Jn 20:19-23. “When Jesus bestowed on His disciples the power to forgive sins, He did it on Easter Sunday. This is significant because of the connection of the Resurrection with spiritual life. Notice that He conferred the power by breathing on the Apostles. The only other time that God breathed on anyone was when he breathed life into the first human being (Gn 2:7). Think about these powerful symbols and how they signify an awesome life-giving power given to the disciples. Notice that Jesus gives the disciples the authority to forgive, and not to forgive. This means a priest has to hear the sins in order to know whether to forgive them or hold them bound.” In 2 Cor 5:17-20, St. Paul explains how the Apostles are ambassadors of Christ’s work of reconciliation. What does this mean but that they share in the ministry of
