A few weeks back I was informed by a dear friend of mine that the role of the Catholic priest in the sacrament of penance (the most well-known feature of which would have to be the Confessional Booth within which Catholics disclose their sins to the priest) is said to be supported by a verse in the Gospel of John, 20:23 - "If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven."
Naturally I wish to respond to this, leading to the following write-up which will be divided into a few sections to hopefully make it easy to follow:
1. An Outline of the Priest's Role in the Catholic Sacrament of Penance / Confession (this post)
3. An Examination (briefly) of Biblical Confession of Sin
1. What is the Role of the Catholic priest in the Sacrament of Penance? (The following explanation can validated against the 'Catechism of the Catholic Church' which is the officially published catechism - i.e. systematic presentation of key doctrines - of the Roman Catholic Church)
Briefly stated, the sacrament of penance reestablishes a right relationship between God and a sinful Catholic and restores sanctifying grace to the soul that is dead because of mortal sin i.e. sin which represents a serious transgression of God's commandments as opposed to a venial sin, which is less serious. A venial sin can be confessed straight to God but not a mortal one, which requires this sacrament.
A crucial aspect of this sacrament involves the divine judicial authority granted to priests for the judgment and absolution of sins. Simply put, when you as a Catholic enter the confessional booth to confess your sins, the priest hearing your confession is given the right to decide whether or not you're sufficiently remorseful and genuinely repentant about what you've done, after which he may or may not (but usually does) exercise his God-ordained task of absolving you failing which you will remain liable for eternal punishment (yes, a mortal sin committed 'de-justifies' you from God's grace).
There is no other way to receive absolution for a mortal sin.
And as already mentioned above, the primary Biblical verse cited in support of the priests' absolutional authority is John 20:23 ("If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven").
The final process - assuming absolution is granted - would then require penance by the sinner in which he/she 'makes satisfaction for' or 'expiates' his sins. This may involve a fast, charity work, devotional exercises but normally involves saying a number of prayers like 'Our Father' and the 'Hail Mary'.
Well, that was a brief summary of the sacrament of penance. There are many disputes (by Protestants) possible even within this one doctrine alone ('mortal' vs. 'venial' sins? etc.), but I hope we can focus currently on the particular authority of the priest.
Although I don't question the sincerity and devotion of most Catholic priests in the administration of their tasks, and would even ascribe some experiential benefits to the whole confessional process, the issue remains as to whether or not Scripture teaches such a subjective yet exclusive dissemination of forgiveness.
Does the Word of God teach that absolution can be passed or withheld through the sole decision of a priest? That is the question.
(Needless to say, I find it extremely problematic that the forgiveness of our sins - according to this doctrine - is entirely dependent upon the act of another person, without which we are not considered forgiven. This is why in the movie 'The Messenger', Joan of Arc begged desperately for a priest to hear her confession because according to her doctrine she will be condemned without this administration of this sacrament. Although eventually Dustin Hoffmann's character absolved her, it is terrible how much sorrow, fear and bondage results from the belief that we CANNOT go to God direct for forgiveness).
Anyway, let's dive into the context and meaning of John 20:23 next,
in Part
2.