So, your choice would be to disregard what Jesus Christ ACTUALLY SAID and replace it with YOUR INTERPRETATION of what Saint John wrote?
Let's look a little more at what Saint John had to say, shall we? (And the HE that is speaking below is Jesus Christ, just so you're clear.):
21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. 23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. (John 20:21-22)
Do not overlook the preceding words Wag.. They were being shown that their spiritual lives and ministry were under the authority of God and not their own.
Can you think of one instance where the apostles forgave someone's sins or with held forgiveness?So they must not have understood it as literally as many take it,
What we did see was them exercise ecclesiastical authority to excommunicate unrepentant sinners ..
It was 1200 before the church instituted confession to a priest.. so it seems it was not as clear as you want to present it..
Jesus said to pray like this ".....Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us.. ..Not as peter forgives us :)
Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
22Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
29"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
So now what?
The pope or a priest refuses to forgive sin and what happens to him then?
That would include John, who wrote 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
So, by the Catholic church reasoning, John exercised his authority to forgive sin by offering a blanket forgiveness to all who confess their sins, the criteria being that they confess their sin. And since he didn't specifically state to whom, and since God is the one doing the forgiving, one can conclude that simply confessing to God is good enough.