To presume that the mythos of men having the authority to pass that power on generation after generation is, well, one of the blasphemies at the heart of catholiciism. Isn't the sin of presumption something your religion tells you not to commit?
Catholicism is mythological, and in places downright blasphemous.
Why would Jesus delegate to his apostles the authority to forgive sins, with the expectation that said authority would expire upon the deaths of those apostles?