[Conservative til I die]

Only God can forgive sins? Eh? You might want to check again: (Jesus) said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

[JHavard]

Jn 20:23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

Men can forgive other men's sins against him personally, if the person repents first, then ask the one he sined against to forgive him, but no man can unilaterally forgive sins that go before God as a sinners repentence and his turning away from sin.

Paul cleared this up

2 Cor 2:10 To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
V-11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Luke 17:4 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. V-4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

Mk 2:10 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (he saith to the sick of the palsy,)

Mk 2:7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

Even the Pharisees understood that no man has power to forgive spiritual sins. We can forgive the little sin's of everyday life that are necessary in a community of believers or even non-believers, but not the sins that when forgiven, give us eternal life .

[Havoc]

"Receive the holy Spirit. 23 Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."

I think you overlook God in the verse. Mere men can only forgive sins committed against them. It is the spirit in them that does more, not the men. So, I say again, no Church is able to forgive sin - only God can. Just as no man is capable of miracles - only God is capable of that. Miracles happen because of God, not because of any man. Which is why so many people decieve themselves in following "healers" - the healer has no power of himself. God can and does work through men; but, absent the Holy spirit and a given man's obedience to God - ain't nuttin there.