Unfortunately this is not a simple subject and it seems that the practice of confession is declining in ordinary Catholic life.
The Gospel says "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "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." (John Ch 20)
However the Gospels also says "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew Ch 7)
It should also be noted from the Gospel that on the occasions when Jesus said "Your sins are forgiven" He did not ask anyone to confess their sins to Him and the Gospel also says that the servant is not greater than his master.
Therefore, as Jesus was sending the disciples in the same way as He was Himself sent, those with authority to forgive or retain sin should rely on the Holy Spirit and a demontration of faith on the part of the recepient in doing so.
However if you would like your sins to be forgiven then the current method is the only option available.
I hope this will help you make up your own mind.
Anywhere, to another priest.
In the Roman Catholic sacrament of confession, you confess your sins to a priest.
You go to confession. In a catholic church, there is often a little room where the priest sits and you confess your sins to him.
I am not a Catholic , but it could be so that , when you confess he may not know who has confessed . Catholic comment: In essence, that is correct - or at least, that is the theory.
Roman Catholic AnswerBecause that is what God made the ordinary vehicle for His forgiveness.
Yes, but technically, we confess our sins to God through the priest.
If a Catholic has committed a mortal sin, then he must confess this sin to a priest in the Sacrament of Confession before he can receive Communion. If he has committed only venial sins, then he is free to receive Communion without going to Confession, and his reception of Communion will actually result in the forgiveness of those venial sins.
The priest is required to keep all confessions a secret. He cannot tell anyone what he hears because this violates the vows he made to God. When you confess, the priest is asking God to forgive you. Should he ever tell, he will no longer be allowed to be a priest.
Muslims confess their sins to God, but not to any person. This differs from some Christian faiths (e.g. Catholic) in which confessions are made to a priest. Most Christian protestant faiths do not include confessions of sins in their practices.
whatever you can afford. No priest should demand a certain fee.
It depends on what kind of parish. If he is Catholic, then no, he can not marry because he is already "married" to mother church. However, if he is an Ipiscable priest and is married, but deciedes to become Catholic, then he may be a married Catholic priest.
One does not confess sins to a priest but through a priest. The priest acts as Christ's agent and you are actually confessing to Christ himself. When Jesus said to his disciples "who's sins you shall forgive they are forgiven, who's sins you shall retain they are retained" he instituted the sacrament of reconciliation (confession), the authority to do this has been passed down through the apostolic Catholic priesthood for 2,000 years to the present day. By not confessing through a priest you will not be receiving sanctifying grace from God..Catholic AnswerIt is important to confess your sins to a priest in the sacrament of confession because this is how God set it up for you to be absolved from your sins and to receive sanctifying grace in order to sin no more. In other words, we do it because God told us to.