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In the end, all sins are between you and God as far as Catholicism is concerned.

??? Then what is the point of having a confession with a priest handing out 'redeeming' punishment (saying 10 Hail Mary's or whatever) if there's no need for the 'middleman' of the Catholic Church? Too many rules for me! I think I'll stick with the 'go straight to Jesus' and avoid the middleman all together, LOL.

??? Then what is the point of having a confession with a priest handing out 'redeeming' punishment (saying 10 Hail Mary's or whatever) if there's no need for the 'middleman' of the Catholic Church? Too many rules for me! I think I'll stick with the 'go straight to Jesus' and avoid the middleman all together, LOL.

I think you are a little bit confused about what we are doing here. When you were posting incorrect assumptions about the Catholic Church, I was happy to correct you and educate you. If you are going to make sarcastic assumptions, I'm not all that interested in helping you. I'm not particularly interested in comparing doctrines, though I'm sure you'll find others on FR who are. The Scriptural basis for the role of priests is well documented. You can either accept it or not. The Catholic position is that Christ only gave his Disciples the power to witness his remission of sin. The priest is there not to absolve sins, but as a witness. The confession is to God, not the priest. And the act of confession is definitely more sincere when it is made in front of another human being. The priest is by no means a "middleman." Glad I could clear that one up for you too.