Here are a few extracts from the 1994 Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church claiming to be authorized to forgive people’s sins.

“There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive.”
(1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church Page 256 #982)

“By Christ’s will, the Church possesses the power to forgive the sins of the baptized…”
(1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church Page 257 #986)

“The Church, who through the bishop and his priests forgives sins in the name of Jesus Christ…”
(1994 Catechism of the Catholic Church Page 363 #1448)

Despite these claims, the Bible teaches God is the only one who can forgive sins. Moreover, God does not rely on a church to delegate His rightful authority to forgive sins. Instead, He only requires a repentant heart that is ready and willing to call out to Him.

Psalm 86:5 (NKJV)
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

Do Christians have the power to forgive sins and save people?

Catholics will use the following verse by Jesus to support their claims that the priests have the authority to forgive sins:

John 20:23 (NKJV)
If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

On the surface, it may seem as if Jesus was giving the disciples the power to forgive, but this is not the case.

In this context, Jesus was giving the disciples a spirit-powered and spirit-guided mission to preach the good news about salvation so that people’s sins might be forgiven.

The disciples did not have the power to forgive sins (only God can forgive sins), but Jesus gave them the privilege of telling new believers that their sins would be forgiven if they believed in the message of Jesus.

Today, all believers have this same privilege; we can announce the forgiveness of sins with certainty when a person repents through faith in Jesus Christ.