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Do
You Reject the Catholic Church's Teaching That Priests Have the
Power to Forgive Sin? |
Consider:
*
How can you reject the Catholic Church's teaching that priests
have the power to forgive sin in light of Scripture's clear
testimony:
"And
when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
"Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained." (Jn. 20:22-23, emphasis
added)
"I
will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven." (Mt. 16:19, emphasis added)
"Amen,
I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Mt.
18:18, emphasis added)
"Is
anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters [that is,
priests] of the church, and they should pray over him and anoint
(him) with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith
will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If
he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven."
(Jms. 5:14-15, emphasis added)
Do
you call Christ (and St. James) a liar? Why do you refuse to believe
what Scripture says?
*
How can you deny that the priest is God's appointed representative
in light of the above? If priests couldn't forgive sin, why
did Christ breathe on them and say "Whose sins you forgive
are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained" (Jn. 20:23) if He
didn't really mean it? *
What was the point of giving the power to bind and loose (see Mt.
18:18) if it wasn't to be used? *
Do you imagine that Christ - being God and knowing all - would not
know that persons would sin after Baptism? Do you image that our
Savior would not leave a certain means for sinners to obtain forgiveness?
Do you imagine that the merciful Lord would not leave us help in
our struggle? *
If you believe that Baptism given by the hands of men gains the
remission of sin (see Acts 2:38), why do you reject the concept
of that men also have been given the power to remit sins after
baptism? "Why
do you baptize, if it is not allowed that sins be forgiven through
men? In baptism too there is forgiveness of all sins; what is the
difference whether priests claim this power is given them to be
exercised in Penance or at the font? The mystery is the same in
both." (St. Ambrose of Milan, Doctor of the Church, c. 387 A.D.) *
Since Scripture says that we should not pray when we see
our brother committing deadly sin (see 1 Jn. 5:16), what recourse
do you suppose that person who committed a deadly sin has? Do you
suppose Christ left him no certain means of forgiveness? *
Do you believe the power to forgive sins ended with the Apostles?
Why would such power only be given for a certain amount of time?
Why do you suppose that Jesus would only provide for the forgiveness
of sins for the lifetime of certain men? How can you think that
Christ would fail to make provisions for all those who follow
Him? *
Considering that Scripture says: Heb.
10:26-31: If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the
truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins but a fearful
prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume
the adversaries. Anyone who rejects the law of Moses is put to
death without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Do
you not think that a much worse punishment is due the one who has
contempt for the Son of God, considers unclean the covenant-blood
by which he was consecrated, and insults the spirit of grace? We
know the one who said: "Vengeance is mine; I will
repay," and again: "The Lord will judge his
people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the
living God. ...is
it not clear that Christ's followers who commit sin are in dire
need of forgiveness? In light of the above, how could one have
peace of mind after committing sin if not for the words of
absolution from Christ's authorized ministers? *
Do you think that the Catholic Church teaches that a mere man
has the inherent power to forgive sin? Do you not realize that the
Catholic Church teaches that it is Christ alone who forgives sin -
He merely does this through the instrumentality of authorized men
(that is, Catholic priests).
"Damasus did not cleanse, Peter did
not cleanse, Ambrose did not cleanse, Gregory did not cleanse; for
the ministries are ours but the Sacraments are Yours." (St.
Ambrose of Milan, Doctor of the Church, 381 A.D.) Note:
If you believe the only 'mortal sin' for believers is unbelief, click
here.
Closing
Quotations...
"In
this same sense He says: 'Whatsoever thou shall bind upon earth it
shall be bound also in Heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on
earth it shall be loosed also in Heaven.' This metaphorical
expression of binding and loosing indicates the power of making
laws, of judging and of punishing; and the power is said to be of
such amplitude and force that God will ratify whatever is decreed
by it." (Pope Leo XIII, "Satis Cognitum", 1896
A.D.)
"They
who inhabit the earth, they who make their abode among men, are
entrusted with the dispensation of the things of heaven! Priests
have received a power which God has given neither to the angels
nor to archangels. It was said to them: 'Whatsoever you shall bind
upon earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever you shall
loose, shall be loosed.' Temporal rulers have indeed the power of
binding; but they can bind only the body. Priest, however, can
bind with a bond which pertains to the soul itself, and transcends
the very heavens. Whatever priests do here on earth, God will
confirm in heaven, just as the master ratifies the decisions of
his servants... I see the Son placing all this power in the hands
of men. They are raised to this dignity as if they were already
gathered up to heaven, elevated above human nature, and freed of
its limitations." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church,
c. 387 A.D.)
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Do
You Reject the Concept of Confessing Sins to a Priest? |
Consider:
*
Considering that Christ has invested certain men with the power to
forgive sins or retain sins ["And when he had said this, he
breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you
retain are retained.'" (Jn. 20:22-23)], how do you suppose
these men could do this if they did not know which sins any
particular person has committed? Do you imagine that God gave them
the power to read minds?
*
How do you suppose a person could be given a fitting remedy if the
disease is unknown? "[T]he minister
[cannot] apply a fitting remedy, unless he be acquainted
with the sin, which knowledge he acquires through the penitent's
confession." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
*
How do you suppose our "spiritual diseases" could be
cured if we do not disclose them to the physicians appointed by
Christ? Remember that although Christ could heal you of
your bodily ills directly, His ordinary providence utilizes the efforts
of men. Or would you also deny that He uses men to heal you of
bodily diseases? *
Can you not see that Confession brings great benefits to society [especially
restitution and the deterrence from future sin (since one who
commits sin must confess it and must do penance)]? *
Can you not see that Confession is good for one's spiritual and mental
health (people need to actually hear the words that they are
forgiven of their sins)? *
Do you also reject the Old Testament basis for the confession of
sins (e.g.
Lev. 5:5, Num. 5, 2 Sam. 12:13)? "He who conceals his sins prospers not, but he who confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy."
(Prov. 28:13) *
If you reject confession of sins to priests under the New
Testament, does this mean you also reject the Old Testament
practice of priests declaring persons clean or unclean? Or do you
also argue that this was left to God alone? *
Why do you reject the confession of sins to men when Scripture
shows that persons "confessed" their sins to St. John
the Baptist (see Mt. 3:6, Mk. 1:5) "It
is necessary to confess our sins to those to whom the dispensation
of God's mysteries is entrusted. Those doing penance of old are
found to have done it before the saints. It is written it the
Gospel that they confessed their sins to John the Baptist; but in
Acts they confessed to the Apostles, by whom also all were
baptized." (St. Basil the Great, Doctor of the Church, c. 371 A.D.) *
Since Christ has stated that certain authorized persons have the
power to forgive sins, why do you deny this? Do you think it
pleases Him that you prefer to go to Him directly when He was the
very one who established men as the dispensers of His
forgiveness (see Jn. 20:22-23)? Imagine if you had a supervisor
(Joe) who instructed you to contact a certain person (Bob) for
assistance with a particular matter, but you instead ignored your
supervisor's instruction and kept going directly to Joe instead of
Bob each time that the matter came up. Do you actually think Joe
would be pleased that you were ignoring (disobeying) his explicit
instructions? Why is it you think Christ invested certain persons
with the power to forgive sins (see Jn. 20:22-23) if He didn't
want people to go to them for forgiveness? Do you imagine that you
are pleasing Him by rejecting the very means He Himself
established? *
If you argue that "there is one mediator between God and
men" (1 Tim. 2:5), how can you explain the clear mandate in
Scripture that...? "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained." (Jn. 20:23)
"Whatever you bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be
loosed in heaven." (Mt. 16:19)
"Amen,
I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Mt. 18:18)
Why are you unwilling to admit that authorized men have a "ministry
of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5:18) and are "ambassadors
for Christ" (2 Cor. 5:20)? Why are you unwilling to admit
that what Christ said is true [namely, "Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained." (Jn. 20:23)]?
Do you actually suppose Christ speaks without meaning?
Closing
Quotations...
"If we acknowledge our sins, he is
faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from
every wrongdoing." (1 Jn. 1:9)
"Invested,
then, as they are, by our Lord with power to remit and retain
sins, priests are evidently appointed judges of the matter on
which they are to pronounce; and since, according to the wise
remark of the Council of Trent, we cannot form an accurate
judgment on any matter, or award to crime a just proportion of
punishment without having previously examined and made ourselves
well acquainted with the case, it follows that the penitent is
obliged to make known to the priests through the medium of
confession, each and every sin." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"We
read in Leviticus about lepers, where they are ordered to show
themselves to the priest, and if they have leprosy, then they are
to be declared unclean by the priest. It is not that the priests
make them lepers and unclean; rather, it is the priests who
separate the leper from the one who is not a leper, and they can
distinguish the clean from the unclean. Just as in the Old
Testament the priest makes the leper clean or unclean, so in the
New Testament the bishop binds or looses not
those who are
innocent or guilty, by reason of their office, when they have
heard various kinds of sins, they know who is to be bound and who
is to be loosed." (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, c. 398 A.D.)
"The
manifold mercy of God came to the assistance of fallen men in such
a way that the hope of eternal life might be recovered not only by
the grace of baptism, but also by the remedy of penance, that
those who have violated the gifts of regeneration, condemning
themselves by their own judgment, might attain to the remission of
their sins; the help of divine goodness having been so ordered
that the indulgence of God cannot be obtained except by the
supplications of the priests. For 'the Mediator of God and of men,
the man Christ Jesus' [cf. 1 Tim. 2:5] has entrusted this power to the
leaders of the Church, that they might both grant the action of
penance to those confessing, and admit the same [persons] cleansed
by salutary satisfaction to the communion of the sacraments
through the gate of reconciliation." (Pope St. Leo the
Great, Doctor of the Church, 459 A.D.)
"[St.
Ambrose] rejoiced also with those who rejoiced, and wept with
those who wept. For whenever anyone confessed his sins to him to
receive a penance, he so wept that he forced the penitent too to
weep. For he considered that he was himself in a state similar to
that of the penitent. But when cases of crimes were confessed to
him, he spoke of it to none but the Lord alone, with whom he
interceded; and thus he left a good example to later priests, to
be intercessors with God rather than accusers among men. For even
according to the Apostle, love is to be confirmed in dealing with
a person of this kind; for he has become his own accuser who does
not wait for but anticipates the accuser; and thus, by confessing,
he lightens his own sin, lest he have something of which the
adversary [i.e. the devil] might accuse him." ('Life of St.
Ambrose', c. 420 A.D.)
"These words [of absolution from the
priest in Confession] fall, it is true, from the lips of one
who, in his turn, must needs beg the same absolution from another
priest. This does not debase the merciful gift; but makes it,
rather, appear greater; since beyond the weak creature is seen
more clearly the hand of God through whose power is wrought this
wonder. As an illustrious layman has written, treating with rare
competence of spiritual things: '...when a priest, groaning in
spirit at his own unworthiness and at the loftiness of his office,
places his consecrated hands upon our heads; when, humiliated at
finding himself the dispenser of the Blood of the Covenant; each
time amazed as he pronounces the words that give life; when a
sinner has absolved a sinner; we, who rise from our knees before
him, feel we have done nothing debasing... We have been at the feet
of a man who represented Jesus Christ... we have been there to
receive the dignity of free men and of sons of God.'" (Pope Pius
XI, "Ad Catholici Sacerdotii", 1935 A.D.)
"This truth is clearly conveyed by our Lord
Himself, when, by a most beautiful metaphor, He calls the power of
administering this Sacrament, the key of the kingdom of heaven.
Just as no one can enter any place without the help of him who has
the keys, so no one is admitted to heaven unless its gates be
unlocked by the priests to whose custody the Lord gave the keys.
This power would otherwise be of no use in the Church. If heaven
can be entered without the power of the keys, in vain would they
to whom the keys were given seek to prevent entrance within its
portals. This thought was familiar to the mind of St. Augustine.
Let no man, he says, say within himself: 'I repent in secret to
the Lord. God, who has power to pardon me, knows the inmost
sentiments of my heart.' Was there then no reason for saying
'whatsoever you loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven'; no
reason why the keys were given to the Church of God? This same
doctrine is taught by St. Ambrose in his treatise On Penance, when
refuting the heresy of the Novatians who asserted that the power
of forgiving sins belonged solely to God. Who, says he, yields
greater reverence to God, he who obeys or he who resists His
commands? God commands us to obey his ministers; and by obeying
them, we honor God alone." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
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