Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 150 - Part II.

YOUCAT Question n. 150 - Part II. Can the Church really forgive sins?

(Youcat answer - repeated) Yes. Jesus not only forgave sins himself, he also conferred on the Church the mission and the power to free men from their sins.         

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 982) There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. "There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest (Roman Catechism I, 11, 5). Christ who died for all men desires that in his Church the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin (Cf. Mt 18:21-22).     

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) Through the ministry of the priest, the penitent receives God’s forgiveness, and his guilt is wiped away as completely as if it had never existed. A priest can do this only because Jesus allows him to participate in his own divine power to forgive sins.    

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 983) Catechesis strives to awaken and nourish in the faithful faith in the incomparable greatness of the risen Christ's gift to his Church: the mission and the power to forgive sins through the ministry of the apostles and their successors: The Lord wills that his disciples possess a tremendous power: that his lowly servants accomplish in his name all that he did when he was on earth (Cf. St. Ambrose, De poenit. I, 15: PL 16, 490). Priests have received from God a power that he has given neither to angels nor to archangels… God above confirms what priests do here below (John Chrysostom, De sac. 3, 5: PG 48, 643). Were there no forgiveness of sins in the Church, there would be no hope of life to come or eternal liberation. Let us thank God who has given his Church such a gift (St. Augustine, Sermo 213, 8: PL 38, 1064).     

(The next question is: What possibilities are there for the forgiveness of sins in the Church?)