[x5452]

Personally I'm looking for a more detailed response to 5. Just got asked this by a non Catholic.

[mike182d]

Its actually quite easy to explain this one. Refer to John 20:22-23

"And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.'"

The Apostles were given not just the power to forgive sins but the power to retain them. If it were possible for man to confess directly to God, it renders the power to forgive sins useless as well as denies the power given to them by God to retain it. Therefore, if we are to believe that Christ isn't a liar, the Apostles not only had the power to forgive other people's sins but also retain someone's sins despite their confession directly to God.