I thought Jesus forgives sin? This confuses me. I’m serious.
The Bible tells us that God forgives us our sins through our belief in the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus(who is one with The Father), so yes Jesus is the one who forgives sin. Any other belief is based on denominational doctrines and is unBiblical. Of course that's probably not a very popular statement on this thread...
Jesus delegated to the Apostles the authority to forgive sins, in his name, and that authority has been handed-down to subsequent priests since that time.
Ultimately, priest forgive sins “In Persona Christi”, in the name of Jesus, not on their own intrinsic authority.