14/04/2026
CONFESSION TO A PRIESTS ISN’T A CATHOLIC INVENTION, IT’S IN THE BIBLE
The Bible itself shows that Jesus did not leave forgiveness as a completely private affair between you and God.
He gave that authority to His Church. After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to the apostles and said something extraordinary in Gospel of John 20,22–23: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Think carefully about that.
Jesus did not say: “Tell people to confess privately to God.” He gave human beings the authority to forgive or retain sins.
But here is the obvious question critics rarely answer: How would the apostles know which sins to forgive or retain if no one confessed them?
The very structure of Christ’s command implies confession. Not because priests replace God.
But because God chose to use His Church as the instrument of His mercy. And this was not invented by Catholics centuries later. The earliest Christians practiced it openly. In Acts of the Apostles 19,18: “Many of those who believed came confessing and divulging their practices.”
In the early Church, confession was public. Over time, the Church wisely moved it into private sacramental confession to protect the dignity of the sinner. But the principle remained the same:
Christ forgives. The priest is His instrument.
In fact, the Bible even connects forgiveness with the authority of the Church in Epistle of James 5,14–16: “Call the elders of the Church, and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to one another.” Notice the pattern.
Call the elders.
Confess the sins.
Receive forgiveness.
This is not medieval Catholic theology. This is New Testament Christianity.
Many Christians say they believe the Bible completely, until the Bible gives authority to the Church. Then suddenly authority becomes a problem. But if Jesus could use fishermen to preach the Gospel, If He could use mud to heal the blind, If He could use water for baptism, why is it so hard to believe He could use a priest to forgive sins?
The priest does not forgive instead of God.
The priest forgives in the name of Christ. Which is exactly what Jesus intended when He breathed on the apostles and gave them the authority to forgive sins.
Reject confession if you want. But be honest about it. You are not rejecting a Catholic tradition. You are rejecting something Jesus Himself instituted.
Blessed Tuesday
Fr. Chisom
