The priest is there to hear the confession and guide the penitent - yet - but also to administer absolution, "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". There have been several saints who were granted the grace of being able to 'read souls' and even smell sin. Saint Faustina, a Polish nun to whom our Lord appeared, was told to write the following in a diary, on the topic of Confession. (red text is that of our Lord)
Today the Lord said to me, Daughter, when you go to confession, to this fountain of My mercy, the Blood and Water which came forth from My Heart always flows down upon your soul and ennobles it. Every time you go to confession, immerse yourself in My mercy, with great trust, so that I may pour the bounty of My grace upon your soul. When you approach the confessional, know this, that I Myself am waiting there for you. I am only hidden by the priest, but I myself act in your soul. Here the misery of the soul meets the God of mercy. Tell souls that from this fount of mercy souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity. The torrents of grace inundate humble souls. The proud remain always in poverty and misery, because My grace turns away from them to humble souls. (1602) My daughter, just as you prepare in My presence, so also you make your confession before Me. The person of the priest is, for Me, only a screen. Never analyse what sort of a priest it is that I am making use of; open your soul in confession as you would to Me, and I will fill it with My light. (1725)
Confession of sins in the Sacrament of Penance
The priest is like a screen with Christ as the listener and absolver.
