Confession & Apostolic Succession

"The sinner wounds God's honor and love, his own human dignity as a man called to be a son of God, and the spiritual well-being of the Church, of which each Christian ought to be a living stone... To return to communion with God after having lost it through sin is a process born of the grace of God who is rich in mercy and solicitous for the salvation of men. One must ask for this precious gift for oneself and for others." CCC 1487, 1489

" 'Just as the office which the Lord confided to Peter alone, as first of the Apostles, destined to be transmitted to his successors, is a permanent one, so also endures the office, which the apostles received, of shepherding the Church, a charge destined to be exercised without interruption by the sacred order of bishops.' (Lumen gentium 20: 2) Hence the Church teaches that 'the bishops have by divine institution taken the place of the apostles as pastors of the Church, in such wise that whoever listens to them is listening to Christ and whoever despises them despises Christ and Him who sent Christ.' (Lumen gentium 20: 2)" CCC862

Christ promised St. Peter and the Apostles the power to forgive sin in Matthew 16:18 and 18:18, when he said: "Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it," and, "Truly I tell you, whatsoever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

The power of the keys (given to Peter in Matthew 16:19), implied supreme jurisdiction over the whole Church, and necessarily included the power to forgive sins, because sin alone excludes men from the kingdom of heaven. The promise was fulfilled in John 20:21-23: " 'As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you.' when He had said this, He breathed on them, and He said to them: 'Receive ye the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.' " How would they know which sins to forgive and which to retain unless they had first heard them? The magnitude of this moment is apparent when it is recognized that this is one of only two times we are told that God breathed on man; the other being when He made a living soul.

There is much proof, through the writings of the early Church fathers, that confession (correctly termed the Sacrament of Penance), was indeed a common practice of the first Christians. The Didache, or The Teaching of the Twelve, written about 70 AD while the Apostle John was still alive, says that oral confession is necessary for salvation. Irenaeus wrote in the second century of "self-accusation" being listed as a requirement of the Church. Tertullian (160-220) mentions confession and penance in the opening chapter of his book on Modesty.

Origen (185-254) in his commentary on Psalm 27 writes: "When you have eaten some indigestible food, and your stomach is filled with an excessive amount of humor, you will suffer until you have gotten rid of it. So, in like manner sinners, who hide and retain their sins within their breasts, become sick therefrom almost to death. If, however, they accuse themselves, confess their sins, and vomit forth their iniquity, they will completely drive from their souls the principle of evil. Consider carefully whom you choose to hearken to your sins. Know well the character of the physician to whom you intend to relate the nature of your sickness. . . If he gives you advice, follow it."

St. Cyprian (200-258) wrote in his treatise De Lapsis: ". . .They are bound to accuse themselves in all simplicity and sorrow to the priests of the Lord, to fulfill their public penance, and to unburden their sin . . . Let each one of you confess your sins, while his confession may still be received, and his satisfaction and the absolution of the priest are pleasing to the Lord." There are many more examples I could cite, but I believe that these are enough to illustrate the fact that the early Christians believed in and practiced the Sacrament of Penance.

I agree that a priest is human, just like you and I, with the same faults and failings as any other human, and nowhere does the Catholic Church teach otherwise. (Incidentally, priests, bishops, and even the Pope are required to confess to another priest.) However, while we all are equally human, not all are equal in responsibility. While it is true that the man makes the decision to study and be ordained a priest, he does not set himself above us. Jesus endowed His priests with the power to forgive sin. St. Ambrose (340-397) declares in De Poen that priests pardon all sins, not in their own name, but as "ministers and instruments of God." Now we know that only God can forgive sin, but the question here concerns the manner in which God has chosen to administer that forgiveness. Christ died to pay the price for our sins, and surely, He has the right to say how forgiveness should be applied. We cannot deny Christ the right to administer forgiveness through agents of his own choosing; nor can we insist that He forgive us according to our conditions, while we ignore His conditions. To prove that the power to forgive sins was indeed delegated to men, I refer you again to John 20:21-23. For examples of this power being exercised by an Apostle, we can look to I Cor. 5:3, where Paul retains the sin of the incestuous Corinthian, and again in II Cor. 2:10 when he says, ". . . If I have forgiven anything, [it] has been for your sake in Christ."

Let's move on to Apostolic succession. I feel that it is necessary to explain this in order to show that today's priests have the same authority given to the Apostles by Jesus. The Catholic Church is the true Church, which Christ commissioned His Apostles to establish under the supremacy of St. Peter. He Himself chose the twelve Apostles, made St. Peter their head, and commissioned them to go out into all the world, teaching His divine revelation to the end of the age.

The true Church must trace its origin in an unbroken line to Jesus and the twelve Apostles. Before giving His divine commission to the Apostles, Christ insists on His divine commission from His heavenly Father: "As the Father hath sent me, I also send you" (John 21:21). "All power is given Me in heaven and in earth. Go, therefore, teach ye all nations" (Matthew 28:18, 19). He first declares His total, earthly and heavenly power and authority. He says then, therefore, in light of this authority, to go and teach all nations. No individual has the right to associate himself with the Apostles; he must be commissioned with divine authority. St. Paul asks in Romans 10:15: "how shall they preach unless they be sent?" Remember that after Judas had died, the remaining eleven Apostles appointed Matthias to take his place. St. Paul routinely ordained bishops to lead his churches. This clearly indicates the necessity of and authority for Apostolic succession.

Let us suppose, for example, a body of twelve men receives from the owner of a large wheat farm the contract to harvest all of the wheat. They receive at the same time the right to hire as many other workers as are necessary to do the job. No one can lawfully work in that field expecting payment, unless he has been empowered by one of the twelve, or someone else acting in their name and with their authority. So, the Lord has given the harvesting of the nations to the twelve Apostles and their legitimate successors until His Second Coming. No one outside the legitimate succession can have any jurisdiction. A break with the past proves the Apostolicity of origin has been lost. "He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber" (John 10:1).

These proofs of Apostolic succession are proof of the Church's authority and Her right to claim an Apostolic ministry. Apostolic ministry implies the authority to teach, to rule, and to sanctify, which has been handed down by the Apostles. Valid Orders alone do not guarantee an Apostolic ministry, for men who are in heresy and schism may confer them. Valid Orders must be accompanied by legitimate jurisdiction, which only comes through union with the head of the Apostolic body, the See of Peter.

Confession and Apostolic Succession