#Eastern Catholicisn

[panickedpansexualprincess]

Okay. I need. An honest answer. And I mean absolutely no offense by this, please don’t take this in the wrong way. I need to pose a question to someone who is Catholic, and who is willing to have an honest conversation without anger or offense.

I’m trying to understand why Catholicism calls for a person to confess their sins to a priest, and to ask forgiveness of a priest, rather than praying to God and asking God for forgiveness. I honestly don’t understand, and I’d really like to talk to someone who can explain this.

My wife and I have been discussing it, and we both understand that from a historical point, it most likely began in a time when only priests could read the Bible, due to language barriers and wide spread illiteracy. What I don’t understand is why that continues today, when we are instructed by Jesus Himself, in both Matthew and Luke, as to how to pray to God in ‘The Lord’s Prayer.’

Again: I’m trying to understand. I’m not mocking, or intending any offense. I simply want to understand why Catholicism diverges from other Christian beliefs when it comes to forgiveness of sins and prayer.

(Also, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I’m wrong about this. Somehow? Because all that I know of Catholicism comes from pop culture. I’ve never been to a Catholic service or looked too deeply into it myself, because I know it doesn’t line up with my own beliefs.)

Edit: It has been pointed out to me that yes, I did get part of this wrong. Confession to a priest-slash-spiritual-father-slash-input-word-for-clergy-type-person-here is not solely a Catholic thing, it’s also part of  Eastern Catholicism/Eastern Orthodoxy,  Anglicanism, and  Lutheranism. Seems only the Protestant denominations, among the different lines of Christian beliefs, are the only ones who don’t do it. So, let me open this up to anyone from any of the Christian denominations/faiths who practice confession through human being within the church, rather than confessing directly to God and asking Their forgiveness. Why the proxy?