"Christ conferred upon the Apostles the power to forgive sins: 'Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven.' (John 20:23). St. Paul mirrors the faith of the Apostolic Church when he writes: 'God hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation' (II Cor. 5:18).
"As the inheritors of the power and authority of the Apostles, the priest of the Catholic Church exercises the ministry of reconciliation, forgiving penitent sinners in the name of Jesus Christ." (The Faith of Millions, pp. 71-72).
The Catholic priests are claiming a power which the apostles did not possess or exercise. Jesus
said to the apostles, "Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven
them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." (John 20:22-23). Thus, only by the
possession of the Holy Spirit would the apostles have the authority to forgive and retain sins. As
the Holy Spirit guided them in their preaching and writing, they delivered God's plan for forgiving
and retaining sins (Luke 24:45-49; Acts 2:38). This alone was their "power to forgive sins" and
how it was exercised.
On one occasion the Scribes and Pharisees reasoned in their hearts concerning Jesus, "Who is this
man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God only?" (Luke 5:21). Their error was
in their failure to recognize that Jesus was God in the flesh. If Jesus was not God, they would
have been correct in their accusation. God said through the prophet Isaiah, "I, even I, am he that
blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins." (Isa. 43:25).
On another occasion the Jews said, "Not for a good work do we stone thee, but for blasphemy,
and because thou, being a man, makest thyself God." (John 10:33). Jesus did not deny that it was
blasphemous for a man to presume to forgive sins. If the Jews had been right in their premise (that
Christ was only a man), they would have been correct in their conclusion. The Catholic priests
literally assume the prerogatives of God when they presume to forgive sins.
If Catholic priests have the power to grant absolution from sin, why don't they also possess the power to perform miracles? Jesus said it was just as easy for him to say, "Arise, and walk," as to say, "Thy sins are forgiven thee" (Luke 5:23). He added, "But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins--he said to the paralytic--I say to thee, arise, take up thy pallet and go to thy house." (Luke 5:24). Why can't the Catholic priests do the same? Since they cannot, we must conclude they do not have authority to forgive sins."