I know very little of the Catholic beliefs. What I know or think I know is from TV and some internet articles. What I want to know is why you confess to a priest and do you have to do it that way to gain forgiveness for sins?
Question: A friend asked me why Catholics have to confess to a priest and not just to God. Would you please explain why?
Answer: Venial sins can be confessed to God. However, we are not purely spiritual beings who live in a vacuum or in a strictly "Jesus 'n me" relationship. We are members, not only of Christ, but of "one another" as Paul says in Romans 12:5. Therefore, Jesus gave the apostles (and their successors and delegates, the bishops and priests) the authority to authoritatively forgive sins in his name with the words "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." (John 20:23). This sacrament, like all sacraments, is intended first and foremost as a gift for our good, not as an onerous "requirement" or hoop to jump through. As human persons, we are enfleshed beings who need to both speak our sins and hear forgiveness with our ears. In addition, we need to be reconciled, not only to God but to the community we have hurt by our actions. For sin has a corporate dimension as well as a vertical one. When we sin, we damage not only our relationship with God but the Church and ourselves as well. Confession is established with this reality in mind. It is also established with the reality in mind that accountability is generally a better thing than simply relying on ourselves in isolation. As we all know, we tend to lie to ourselves about things we'd prefer not to face. Among it's many graces, confession keeps us more homest than we'd be on our own. But it also gives us mercies (as distinct from excuses) we aren't able to give ourselves. For a further discussion of the sacrament of reconciliation, see the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1420-1498.