Why Catholics Confess to a Priest
The sacrament of penance, commonly referred to as penance, reconciliation and confession is the ritual used by the Catholic Church to absolve believers of their sins.
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Origins
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According to Catholic teachings established by the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the sacrament of penance was actually created by Jesus Christ when he appeared to his disciples after the resurrection. As recorded in the Gospel of John, Jesus spoke to them, saying, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." According to the Catholic Church, in this verse Christ gives authority to his priests to act as judges and forgive or punish sins.
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Since baptism is believed to remove sins committed before the believer became a Christian, it is necessary for believers to confess sins committed only since baptism or since their most recent confession. The person receiving the confession must be an ordained priest. Besides confessing their sins, the persons giving the confession must repent of their sins and accept the penance commanded by the priest.
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Function
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Although the confession is given to the priest, it isn't the priest who forgives the sin. Instead the priest simply acts as the intermediary between God and humans. It is God who actually grants forgiveness. According to journalist Ellen Fanizzi, the confession exists to bring the believers peace, reconcile them with God and restore their relationships with people they have hurt.
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