[Melinda in TN]

Ok, I read the link and I give credit for your exception to the comment about Priests not having authority. I have read those verses and in my mind Jesus was talking to his disciples of that time, but I agree that it could be allowed in this day and time because it doesn't specifically say it doesn't. Still, I am not sure the Priests and Pastors of today are on the same moral level as the Apostles that were following Jesus. At the same time, nothing says that a person is required to confess to a priest. My problem with confession to a Priest happens when it is considered the only way.

Priests and Pastors are human with human sins. In this day and time there are a lot that are more corrupt than the people they are taking confession from. I guess I don't put a lot of faith in people. I prefer to discuss my sins and failings with God 1/1.

Believe me, I am not bashing Catholics. In fact, I find more fault with Baptist doctrine at times than I do Catholic. It's just different issues. I have told my husband several times that I would love to convert to a Catholic because most of their beliefs make more sense to me, except for the requirement to confess to a Priest.

[Carpe Cerevisi]

I can somewhat see the points you're making. But to not derail the thread I would suggest getting a very good basic book on Catholicism is you were interested in knowing more. I would suggest Catholicism for Dummies (no insult intended!). God bless!

[AnAmericanMother]

No problem! I'm not interested in bashing anybody . . . but when my purported co-religionists have been misinforming others about Catholicism, I do like to try to set the record straight.

The idea that a priest must be sinless in order to administer the Sacraments - in fact, that you couldn't be a Christian if you sinned after baptism - was an idea that surfaced very early on in the Church, back in the 3rd century, and was refuted. And given the Borgias and some of the other naughty clerics over the years, I don't think our age is that out of the ordinary.

I used to be an Episcopalian (which had Confession in theory but never in practice, just one-on-one with God as you say), and I found that preparing for the Sacrament of Confession focuses my mind in a way that prayer alone does not. It's way too easy to just sort of feel a general sorrow for being a sinner, without examining exactly how and when and how often you are failing. When you go to Confession, you confess your sins in kind and in number. There are excellent Examinations of Conscience - some based on the Ten Commandments, some on the Precepts of the Church, some on the Cardinal Sins - that help you think in detail about your sins and WHY you are committing them. There is even an iPhone app that you can take into the confessional with you (and it's passworded!) Which of course (with genuine contrition and a firm purpose to amend your life -- necessary for a good confession) helps you stop.

I have found that I have a much clearer view of my sins after getting organized for a good confession and listening to the priest's advice on prayer and ways to avoid sin. After all, this is a system that has been perfected over hundreds and hundreds of years.

My own personal experience, by the way, is that most priests I've gone to for Confession are conscientious, holy men who are doing their best to help you along to Heaven. Surprisingly, even the goofy hippie priests who are holdovers from the 60s and 70s, the kind who drive me up the wall by playing the guitar (very badly) during Mass and wandering the aisles during the homily, still take Confession seriously and exercise their responsibilities with great humility and kindness.

And, of course, a priest will die rather than reveal anything told him under the Seal of the Confessional. St. John Nepomuk was martyred because he would not reveal to the King of Bohemia what his wife, the Queen, had said in Confession. He's portrayed with the martyr's palm in his hand and his finger to his lips, for silence.

[Salvation]

**My problem with confession to a Priest happens when it is considered the only way.**

Are you saying that you don’t believe Christ’s words, “Receive the Holy Spirit, whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, whose sins you shall retained, they are retained.?

Yes, Christ gave this blessings and instructions to the apostles, the first bishops of the Catholic Church.

As they ordained other priests, for example, Paul ordaining Timothy, that blessing and authproty is passed on to them.

You do believe the Bible, don’t you?

[Salvation]

Have you ever read the words of Absolution slowly? The priest doesn't forgive your sins -- God does!

 

1449 The formula of absolution used in the Latin Church expresses the essential elements of this sacrament: the Father of mercies is the source of all forgiveness. He effects the reconciliation of sinners through the Passover of his Son and the gift of his Spirit, through the prayer and ministry of the Church:

God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and the resurrection of his Son
has reconciled the world to himself
and sent the Holy Spirit among us
for the forgiveness of sins;
through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace,
and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

[Cronos]

except for the requirement true, it is always hard to make this decision. But from what I read in your posts I am of the opinion that you are walking in Christ and seeking to follow His ways. May God bless you on your journey...