The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1910-05-21
A QUESTION THAT
IS OFTEN ASKED
BY Protestants is Answered
Clearly and Concisely
By Bishop Conaty.
No Doctrine of the Church
More Bitterly Assailed
Than Confession.
Who Can Forgive Sin But
God Alone Asked Christ
By the Pharisees.

The following discourse on "Confes-
SION was delivered by Rt. Rev. Thom-
as Conaty at Los Angeles, Cal:
The question is frequently asked.
How can man forgive sins?' who
can forgive sins but God alone?" There
is no one so foolish as to assert that
man of himself has any power to for
give the sins committed against God.
All must concede that God alone has
in Himself the power to forgive sins.
But cannot God make use of men az
agents in His name to reconcile sim
ners to Him? Cannot man forgive
sin by virtue Of an agency given to
him by God for that purpose? The
Testament is full Of examples of the
power of God given by Him to man.
and punished and became the instru-
ment by which the will OF God be-
came known. He used Moses to lead
the people of Israel out Of Egypt into
the Promised Land, and he had the
power of God with which to touch the
rock from which flowed forth the wa
ter which quenched their thirst.
Christ selected men and not angels
as apostles and confided to them the
care Of His kingdom. He sent them
to cast out the unclean spirit from men
and in this way exercise power which
belonged to God alone. 1t was to these
men that Christ gave the commission
} to baptize, to sacrifice and to forgive:
Will anyone question His power to do
so? Certainly God may make use OF
any of His creatures for any purpose
which seems good to His Divine Prov
idence Some who find a stumbling
block to the thought Of man as an i'll
strument in the forgiveness Of sin,
readily receive baptism at the hands
of man. and in receiving 1t believe
that original sin Is remtted and man
is restored to the friendship Of God.
who can forgive sin but God alone
is not a question of recent date; 1t
was asked of Christ by the Pharisees,
and we remember the answer which
Christ gave by the healing Of the par
: alytic, thus visbly proving that the
son of man had power on earth to for
give sins. The whole question re-
solves itself back to the action OF
Christ. Did He share with men His
authority over sin? And II so, to
whom was this authority passed? Once
we realize that Christ has established
tribunal for the forgiveness Of sins
and has committed It to His apostles
and their SUCCESSORS in the Church of
God, our duty is to find tho succession.
When we are satisfied as to tho valid
ity of the priestly jurisdiction over us,
then we arc certain that if we confess
our sins and arc sorry for them, the
priestly absolution RENTS our sins and
restores us to the friendship OF God.
, Christ died for sin. and by His death,
atoncd for it, but in His plan of re-
demption He cxacts corporation on
the part of the individual in order that
he may obtain the benefits of redemp
tion. He has seen fit to establish HIS
Church and cntrust to it the ministry
of His sacraments. He might have de-
termincd some other method Of bring
ing men to redemption. The fact is
that we are certain and Christianity
has believed that this is the way which
has commended itself to Him. and
therefore by that way we shall be
saved The Christian Church teaches
4 us that the sacramento confession
$ Joined with contrition Of the penitent
and the absolution of the priest. are
t the means by which sins committed
t after baptism are forgiven.
] Confession has been a practice OF
r our life as Catholics. We have beer
e led to the confessional for the for
t giveness Of the sins committed after
baptism. We know the falsehood OF
. the charge that confession leads tc
8 A life of ease in sin because we know
s the hardship of confession and it's llu.
Initiation as real as tAe obligation thai