Sebastian R. Fama - St. Patrick's Basilica

Confession
In John 20:21-23, we find Jesus saying the following to his apostles: "'Peace be
with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.' And when He had said
this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you
forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven. If you retain the sins of any, they are
retained.'"
These verses refer to what Catholics call Confession or the Sacrament of
Reconciliation. Those who object to the Catholic view of this passage usually
contend that Jesus was simply speaking about believers forgiving those who have
wronged them. Such a view is impossible for two reasons. The first reason is that
Jesus qualifies His statement. He starts off by saying, "As the Father has sent me,
even so I send you." This raises the question, in what manner was Jesus sent to
forgive? Mark 2:5-12 gives us the answer:
And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "My son,
your sins are forgiven." Now some of the Scribes were sitting there,
questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak thus? It is
blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Jesus, knowing
what they were thinking, said in part, "But that you may know that the
Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins," – He said to the
paralytic, "I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home." And he
rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all.
Jesus didn't need to perform a miracle to show that He could forgive someone of a
personal offense. The forgiveness spoken of is the forgiveness that makes salvation
possible.
The second reason that John 20:21-23 does not refer to believers forgiving others
who have wronged them, is that we are not given the option of retaining anyone's
sins. In fact, our own forgiveness is dependent on our forgiving others. Jesus tells
us this very thing in Matthew 6:14-15: "For if you forgive men their trespasses,
your heavenly Father also will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
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