Who Instituted the Sacrament of Penance?

Jesus himself instituted the sacrament of Penance when he showed himself to his apostles on Easter day and commanded them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn20:22a-23.

Nowhere did Jesus express more beautifully what happens in the sacrament of Penance than in the parable of the Prodigal Son: We go astray, we are lost and can no longer cope. Yet our Father waits for us with great, indeed, infinite longing; he forgives us when we come back; he takes us in again, forgives our sins.
Jesus himself forgave the sins of many individuals; it was more important to him than working miracles.

Jesus forgave sins in power of the Holy Spirit, and he handed the power on to his Apostles. We fall into the arms of our heavenly Father when we go to a Priest and confess. God alone can forgive sins. Jesus could say “Your sins are forgiven” (Mk 2:5) only because Jesus has given them that authority.

Many people say, “I can go directly to God; why do I need a priest?” God, though, wants it otherwise. We rationalize our sins away and like to sweep things under the rug. That is why God wants us to tell our sins and to acknowledge them in a personal encounter. Therefore, the following words from the Gospel are true of priests: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (Jn 20:23).