0

So I had a few debates with people who didn't like the catholic church.

One of their reasons was, that priests would take on the role of God, by "forgiving" the sin.

Now I am not a catholic myself and I didn't have the opportunity to experience confession.

So hence my question:

What is a priest actually supposed to be doing when it comes to forgiveness during confession?

Since the catholic church is so big, I maybe have to add the question if there are different views on this, within the catholic church and if there are regions that are known to do it the wrong way repeatedly.

With "confession", I imagine the ritual, where in church you go to that confession box and talk with the priest about your sin.

Improve this question
4
  • So... the obvious Roman Catholic answer is that the priest is forgiving sins. The proposed duplicate addresses whether that's a legitimate response, which I think is what this Question really seeks to understand. That said, for an alternative perspective, consider also carm.org/roman-catholicism/….
    – Matthew
    Commented Jun 3 at 18:52
  • 1
    @Matthew Ironic how the article starts with "Context is king when interpreting scripture" and then proceeds to completely ignore the context of Power of the Keys, which allowed Peter and the Apostles to give this power to their successors.
    – Yksisarvinen
    Commented Jun 4 at 9:59
  • 1
    @Yksisarvinen, to be clear, I am not saying I endorse that article. (I'm actually on the PotK side of the aisle, myself.) I'm just presenting it as another side of the discussion. christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/101946 might also be relevant.
    – Matthew
    Commented Jun 4 at 15:01
  • Christians believe that Jesus Christ' work on the cross was sufficient for the forgiveness of sins: past, present, and future for those who believe. It is thought that priests are robbing Christ of this work on the cross because it is contrary to the cornerstone of the Christian faith. What it comes down to is whether you or the people you've debated believe that Jesus Christ death, burial, and resurrection perfectly atoned for believer's sins and whether death was defeated when He commaneded "It is finished!".
    – Hosea
    Commented Jun 6 at 2:23

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

In connection with priests "taking on the role of God" and "forgiving sins," I'd point to Christ's assurance to the apostles that "Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them" (John 20:23). So priests do in fact forgive sins, and they have divine authority and support for doing so. Note also the words used by the priest in forgiving sins: "May or Lord Jesus Christ absolve you, and I by His authority absolve you from ... your sins."

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .