You creat conflict where there is none.
All Catholics know they can go directly to God for forgiveness, but they also have the benefit of Penance.
It is not my intention to create conflict where there is none.
I have asked questions about who it is that forgives sins -- God or human beings who have been ordained.
Some here have said that God forgives sin.
Others have pointed to official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church that say that a priest is essential for forgiveness.
Others have said that Christ gave the power and authority to forgvie sins to a certain group of men, and that those men passed that same authority along to other men.
It is all quite confusing.
I, too, know the benefit of confessing my sins. I also know that there is no use lying to God or holding back any of my sins when I confess to Him -- he already knows my sins anyway, and holding back any of my sins -- even my darkest and most awful sins -- when confessing to God is an affront to God, because it presumes to hide something from an all-knowing God.