Do you believe:
23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained [John 20:23]
Yes, I believe that was given to the Apostles. However, I find nothing in any of the subsequent books to support the idea that this was to be passed down to others. Even Peter, on the day of Pentecost, did not say “come confess your sins to one of us and receive absolution”; he said “repent and be baptized every one of you for the remission of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost”.