• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.

Mississippi DA calls out gender bias as female youth pastor gets house arrest for child sexual abuse

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SBA Pro-Life America to spend $80M on midterm elections battle

A pro-life organization has committed to spending nearly $100 million on the 2026 midterm elections as control of both chambers of Congress hangs in the balance.

The pro-life advocacy group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America announced in a statement published Wednesday that it plans to spend $80 million on pro-life candidates seeking federal office in the 2026 midterm elections.

In next year’s elections, voters in 35 states will elect a U.S. senator while all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives will be on the ballot.

The investment will target 10.5 million pro-life voters across the country through “canvassing, digital advertising, voter contact mail and a robust early vote campaign as races progress.”

States that the pro-life advocacy group has identified as key battlegrounds for U.S. House and Senate races include Iowa, Georgia, Michigan and North Carolina.

Continued below.

Masked suspect vandalizes 3 NYC churches with 'anti-Christian' messages while carrying LGBT flag

Authorities are attempting to identify an unknown individual who vandalized three New York City churches while carrying an LGBT pride flag.

The New York Police Department Crime Stoppers posted a request for tips on its social media platforms on Wednesday regarding an individual who vandalized three churches in Far Rockaway, a neighborhood of Queens, on Oct. 5.

According to Crime Stoppers, from around 1:40 a.m. to 2 a.m., the masked individual vandalized The Refuge Church of Christ, The City of Oasis Church of Deliverance, and St. Mary's Star of the Sea Church.

The suspect painted “anti-Christian statements” on the façades of the three churches, and painted “the faces of two religious statues on the church property” at St. Mary’s.

Video footage shows an individual carrying an LGBT pride flag on a pole, while also donning a rainbow-colored facemask, black clothes and sunglasses.

Continued below.

Gio Benitez, Openly Gay ABC News Weekend Anchor, Joins Catholic Church and Reaffirms Faith with Husband by His Side

Asking just for my information: What is the Catholic policy in cases like this, where a married gay person joins the church? Are they required to get a civil divorce? Do they continue to be (civilly) married but now live celibately together? Some third option?

(I understand that the Catholic church will not recognize the marriage as valid, but I'm not sure what their policy is toward the existing civil union.)
The author of Wicked, Gregory Maguire, is also legally married to a man, has adopted children, and a practicing Catholic who faithfully attends Mass. Just an interesting fact.
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Why Zohran Mamdani won and New York will pay a terrible price

The OP stated he was a "Muslim" in a way that implied that would be a bad thing for New York who don't need any help from me or you in deciding who to vote for.

"Democratic socialism" - like in Scandinavian countries for many years since WW2 - of course the people in those countries are all poverty stricken as a result. How's their life expectancy cf US?
Do you want to be like Scandavia where the governments take about 70% of your income?
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Christian missionaries die in plane crash en route to Jamaica after hurricane

Two Christian missionaries who were killed in a plane crash as they sought to provide aid to Jamaica following Hurricane Melissa are being remembered for their compassion and empathy as an investigation into the cause of the crash continues.

The Christian ministry Ignite the Fire announced in a Facebook post Monday that its founder, Alexander Wurm, 53, and his daughter Serena, 22, were killed in a plane crash in Coral Springs, Florida, earlier in the day as they sought to bring humanitarian relief to Jamaica to help the island recover from the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa two weeks ago.

The two were the only passengers on board the plane, which was traveling from Florida to Jamaica.

Continued below.
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Called of God to Ministry

Do you remember the story in Luke 7:36-50 of the sinful woman who entered the Pharisee’s house who, standing behind Jesus, at his feet, weeping, began to wet his feet with her tears and with her hair, kissing his feet and anointing them with perfume? And do you recall the Pharisee’s response? He said to himself, “If this man” (meaning Jesus) “were a prophet he would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” And do you recall Jesus’ response to him?

And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.” “A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.” Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:40-50 NASB1995)

Now once upon a time there was a girl named Sue. She believed in Jesus as her Lord and Savior at age 7, and she committed herself to following the Lord the rest of her life. She was not perfect, and she made mistakes along the way, sometimes, but she loved Jesus, and her desire was to live for him and to obey him. But she kept coming up against Pharisees who did not and who would not see her through the eyes of the Lord. They did not value her as Jesus did, but they treated her much like this Pharisee treated this woman in this story. So she kept being rejected over and over again.

The hits just kept coming, one after another after another. Sometimes she felt like she was a basketball being slam dunked into a basket over again, and sometimes she felt like she was in the water with people continually pushing her head under the water trying to drown her. And as soon as she came up for air there was someone there trying to drown her again. And one day she finally crashed and she became the person that they treated her as though she was, and she was not the person she once was. But then God brought her back, and he forgave her, and later on he called her to ministry.

For he had a plan for her life from even before she was formed in the womb of her mother. He had a calling and a mission for her. And he allowed her to go through a life of persecution, abuse, mistreatment, and rejection, all to prepare her for the time when he intended to use her for his glory to reach the people of the world with the truth of the gospel of our salvation. And he planned to use her in ways, perhaps, that normally would be what God would call men to do, but who did not and who would not answer his call as she did. So he had her ready to go to fill that void that needed to be filled.

So, he called her to write down what he was teaching her each day from her times spent with him in the Word of God, and she was to place these writings on the internet so that “a herald could run with it.” 21 years ago she began that ministry to which God called her. And she has been faithful to that call ever since then, no matter how many persecutions or rejections or mistreatments she faced, and even through sicknesses and oppositions of many kinds, because God was her strength, and she depended on him, because she loved him, and she wanted to obey him, and she loved people.

And, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, thousands of people (perhaps millions) have been reached with the truth of God’s Word, and with the truth of the gospel of our salvation, in over 100 different countries throughout the world over the course of the past 21 years because a despised and rejected woman who was nothing of value to the Pharisees of this world (including within the church) had the courage to step out in faith, and against all odds obey God’s voice and let herself be used of God to reach the world for Jesus Christ.

So, don’t let the opinions or the mistreatments of other people or their devaluing of you and their criticisms of you stop you from obeying the Lord in being who he has called you to be. For if God can use a donkey to get his message across to someone, he can certainly use us women, even if men or other women devalue us and disregard our worth in the eyes of the Lord. For in our present age, sadly there are many men who are spiritually AWOL and who are not willing to answer the call of God, and so God is calling women to fill their shoes and to do for him what the men did not and would not do.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

A Believer’s Prayer

An Original Work / July 31, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love


With my whole heart, Lord, I pray
To be Yours, and Yours always.
Lead me in Your truth today.
May I love You, and obey.
Lead me in Your righteousness.
When I sin, may I confess;
Bow before You when I pray;
Live for You and You always.

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.
Life with You will never end.
You are with me through each day,
Giving love and peace always.
You will ne’er abandon me.
From my sin You set me free.
You died on that cruel tree,
So I’d live eternally.

Soon You’re coming back for me;
From this world to set me free;
Live with You eternally.
Oh, what joy that brings to me.
I will walk with You in white;
A pure bride, I’ve been made right
By the blood of Jesus Christ;
Pardoned by His sacrifice.

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Called of God to Ministry
An Original Work / November 13, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Did the early church worship on Sabbath?

Everything of the law is subject to what was written in stone by the finger of God after God spoke those things, including the priesthood, the sacrifices, the ways to be me made clean in the rituals all of which were shadows in the old covenant that Christ is revealed to be in the new covenant, penalties in civil law are shadows of justice from God, which Christ bore for the redeemed, the ones with repentant faith that came, and those with that who will come, to Christ, and be restored to God. What to do right in that is still what is right to do, in the new covenant that was prophesied this would be from the heart, that is the essential change. Everything before God is to involve living justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God.
Sounds good so far :thumbsup: Let's apply it to a specific instruction. Is this one from Leviticus 23 in the New Covenant, as you understand it?

the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly
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Democrats finally vote to open Government

So they could have done so.

It's not all or nothing. They could have amended the rule so that CRs could not be filibustered while still keeping it for most legislation. In fact they showed they knew that was a possibility by eliminating it for group confirmation votes.

Also, there has never been a serious effort to change the size of the Supreme Court, and if the Democrats ever wanted to institute a change that significant, they would simply override the filibuster themselves.
No, they could not remove nor modify the filibuster, without major consequences in the future.

All the democrats had to do is vote for the clean Continuing Resolution, which they eventually did and the government reopened.
It was the democrats who refused to vote for the CR.

When Biden was president, they talked of stacking the Supreme Court, but again, it would require 60 votes in the senate and
they knew unless they got control of both the House and the Senate, it could not be done.
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Israel-Hamas Thread II

How that beacon of democracy in the Middle East treats Palestinian prisoners (not charged with anything of course).

Israel is keeping dozens of Palestinians from Gaza in isolation in an underground prison where they never see daylight, lack sufficient food, and are denied information about their families or the outside world.

The detainees have included at least two civilians held for months without a charge or trial: a nurse apprehended in his scrubs and a young food seller, according to lawyers from the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) who represent both men. The two men were transferred to the underground Rakefet complex in January, where they reported regular beatings and violence similar to well-documented torture in other Israeli detention centers.
They [the visiting lawyers) were led underground by masked, heavily armed security guards, down a flight of dirty stairs into a room where the remains of dead insects littered the floor. The toilet was so filthy it was practically unusable. Surveillance cameras on the walls violated the basic legal right to a confidential discussion, and guards warned that the meeting would be cut short if they talked about detainees’ families or the war in Gaza.

“I asked myself, if the conditions in the lawyers’ room are so humiliating – not just personally to us but also to the profession – then what is the situation for the prisoners?” Abdu said. “The answer came soon when we met them.” The clients were brought in bent over, with guards forcing their heads to the ground, and remained shackled at their hands and feet, she noted ...
Prisoners told the lawyers they faced regular physical abuse such as beatings, dog attacks with iron muzzles, and guards stepping on them, in addition to being denied adequate medical care and provided with starvation-level rations. Israel’s high court ruled this month that the state was depriving Palestinian prisoners of adequate food.
They have very limited time outside the cell in a tiny underground enclosure, sometimes just five minutes every other day. Mattresses are taken away early in the morning, usually around 4 a.m., and only returned late at night, leaving detainees on iron frames in otherwise empty cells.
https://inview.org.uk/news/186168-p...gn=duckduckgo.com&utm_referrer=duckduckgo.com
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Can Truth Be Known? How

Truth is not what we humans want it to be, but the opposite of what we desire. God said from beginning to end in the Bible to put His Will, that being His truth, ahead of our own. The pursuit of self by both human and elohim has steered us away from His truth to our own. We were given two commandments to rectify this but either we refuse or adapt it to suit our desires, not His. More people use God to justify themselves than actually follow His will. We even built a religion that makes it about us rather then God's plan to have both man and elohim alike no longer follow self and abuse our self-awareness. We were made with self-awareness to be of use to the Father, but until we stop grabbing the reins from Him, we are useless to His purpose and are cancers within His creation.
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The Nobel Peace Prize went to Venezuela’s Maria Corina Machado - why not Trump? He's solved 8 wars!

It’s actually nine wars. He has preemptively won the War on Christmas.
Trump actually isn't against Christmas per se; he just hates the teachings of the One who's birthday is being celebrated.
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The Thing Most Sabbath Keepers Do not Talk About.

You are promoting a popular religious teaching of this world, that the Pharisees, including the "zealous ones like Saul", were "blameless" promoting "God's Laws" to the Jews, Gentile converts and Galatians.

Frankly what you claim as my position is complete nonsense.

I have never ever thought or taught that - complete nonsense.

To be blunt you seem to be on a campaign to assassinate my character with false accusations.

Please desist or I will have no choice but to report you to the mods.
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WHAT IS PAUL MEAN IN HEBREWS 9:18 ??

# 1 WHERE UPON // HOTHEN. is an ADVERB

# 2 NEITHER //. OUDE is an. ADVERB

# 3. THE. // HO. is a DRFINITE ARTICLE. is a. NOMINATIVE. CASE. in. the SIGNULAR

# 4. FIRST. //. PROTOS is a NOMINATIVE CASE in. the SIGNULAR

# 5. ( TESTAMENT ). WAS DEDICATED. //. EGKAINIZO in the PERFECT TENSE invite INDICATIVE MOOD. in. the SINGULAR

# 6. WITH OUT // CHORIS is an ADVERB

#. 7. BLOOD. //. HAIMA in. the GENITIVE CASE in. the GENITIVE CASE in. the SINGULAR in. the NEUTER

# A. AND the first sacrifice was done with a Priest of Israel on and ALTER. where the BLOOD. was sprinkled

# B. This then means SINS could not be TAKEN AWAY , until Christ was NAILED TO A CROSS

# C. AND sins could not taken away until. anyone . performe John. 6:54

What say YOU. ??

dan p

Be Instructed Judah

Jeremiah 4:19-20 & 46 Oh how I writhe in anguish, I hear the sounds of destruction and the crashing as the whole land goes down in ruin. Suddenly, in an instant the buildings are thrown down, the cities are flattened by the fire of the Lord’s fury.

Jeremiah 4:23-28 I saw the earth and it was in chaos and darkness. The mountains and hills shook and reeled. The land was like a wilderness, there was no one to be seen, even the birds had gone. Hosea 4:3 The earth will mourn for this in darkness, for now that I have made My purpose known, I shall not relent or change it. Ref: REBible

This unfulfilled prophecy describes the multi prophesied judgement/punishment by fire, that will destroy the Lord’s enemies and carried out by the ‘Destroyer of the nations’. Deuteronomy 32:34 It is the great and terrible Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath, the Sixth Seal of Revelation.
It is the final punishment of Judah, their ‘third swing of the sword’. Ezekiel 21:14, Jeremiah 8:12, Jeremiah 11:15-16, Isaiah 22:12-14

This blast of superheated wind results from an earth directed explosion of the suns surface, Isaiah 30:26, at mid-day ME. time, Zephaniah 2:4, that will suddenly ruin the entire Middle Eastern region, ‘laying it waste and bereft of inhabitants’. Isaiah 64:10, Isaiah 17:1, Jeremiah 49:2, Isaiah 34:5

The whole earth will ‘be in chaos and darkness’, the extreme heat, earthquakes, powerful winds and tsunamis will kill millions worldwide. Jeremiah 9:21-22, Isaiah 66:15-17

Now that the Lord has made known His plan, He will not relent or change it’.
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Missouri Pastor Defends Polygamy After Taking Second Wife

Rich Tidwell, a Missouri pastor, is arguing that the Bible allows for polygamy after announcing his marriage to a second wife, who is expecting his eighth child.

Tidwell, the pastor of Ormond Church in Canton, argues extensively in a sermon titled “David’s Two Wife” and a long-form article titled “On Plural Marriage” that the Scriptures nowhere prohibit men from marrying multiple wives. In fact, he argues, polygamous marriages are “divinely ordained.”

Ormond Church describes itself as a place “to hear God’s Word, to grow strong in faith, and to serve Jesus together in love…as we draw closer to the Resurrection!”

Continued below.
Find another church.
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Pope Leo Declares Jesus Alone Saved the World. Mary No Longer Called Co-Redemptrix.

Well, looks like the new Pope wants to get closer to the Protestant denominations. He puts out a decree that firmly rejects the claim that Mary is Co-Redemptrix...

"Pope Leo Declares Jesus Alone Saved the World, Rejects Title of Mary as 'Co-Redeemer

A decree from Pope Leo's office firmly rejects the claim that Mary, Jesus' mother, helped save the world from damnation, settling a debate that has baffled the Catholic community by stating that Jesus alone redeemed humanity by his crucifixion and death.

In a lengthy note titled "Mater Populi Fidelis" or "Mother of the Faithful People of God," the Vatican's doctrinal office instructed Catholics to no longer give her the title of "co-redemptrix" or "co-redeemer" as it "carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ" as the Savior.

The October 7th document was approved by Pope Leo XIV and signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández and says the previous title creates confusion to the "truths of the Christian faith."

"She is the mother who gave the world the author of redemption and of grace, who stood firm at the foot of the cross (cf. John 19:25), suffering alongside her son and offering the pain of her maternal heart pierced by the sword (cf. Luke 2:35)," the document said. "From the Incarnation to the cross and the Resurrection, she was united to Christ in a way that is unique and that far surpasses any other believer."

"Mary's incomparable greatness lies in what she has received and in her trusting readiness to allow herself to be overtaken by the Spirit," it continued.

The note claims that Mary was the first and perfect disciple of Jesus, according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

(link: Mary, mother of Jesus and all believers, is not co-redeemer, Vatican says)

According to the Catholic News Agency, the title of "Co-redemptrix" has been a point of debate for decades, as some Catholics have called for Mary's "title" to be declared dogma, while opponents say it exaggerates her importance and could isolate Catholics amongst other Christian denominations.

The late Pope Francis also strongly opposed granting Mary the title of "co-redeemer," and according to Reuters, he suggested the idea was "foolishness." "She never wanted to take anything for herself from her son," Francis said in 2019.

Additionally, Benedict XVI, Francis' predecessor, also opposed the title. However, his predecessor, John Paul II, supported the title until the mid-90s when the doctrinal office began to voice skepticism.

"Everything comes from Him – Christ – as the Letter to the Ephesians and the Letter to the Colossians, in particular, tell us; Mary, too, is everything that she is through Him. The word 'Co-redemptrix' would obscure this origin," Benedict once said.

Fernández presented the document during a conference at the Jesuit headquarters in Rome last week and said its teaching becomes part of the church's "ordinary magisterium" and must be considered authoritative, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reports.

"Any gaze directed at her that distracts us from Christ or that places her on the same level as the Son of God would fall outside the dynamic proper to an authentically Marian faith," the note said in part." Pope Leo Declares Jesus Alone Saved the World, Rejects Title of Mary as 'Co-Redeemer' | CBN News



"A decree from Pope Leo's office firmly rejects the claim that Mary, Jesus' mother, helped save the world from damnation, settling a debate that has baffled the Catholic community by stating that Jesus alone redeemed humanity by his crucifixion and death."

"In a lengthy note titled 'Mater Populi Fidelis' or 'Mother of the Faithful People of God,' the Vatican's doctrinal office instructed Catholics to no longer give her the title of "co-redemptrix" or "co-redeemer" as it "carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ" as the Savior."

"The late Pope Francis also strongly opposed granting Mary the title of "co-redeemer," and according to Reuters, he suggested the idea was "foolishness." "She never wanted to take anything for herself from her son," Francis said in 2019. Additionally, Benedict XVI, Francis' predecessor, also opposed the title. However, his predecessor, John Paul II, supported the title until the mid-90s when the doctrinal office began to voice skepticism."

Source: Cindy Wooden, "Mary, mother of Jesus and all believers, is not co-redeemer, Vatican says," United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 4 November 2025.

"In a lengthy doctrinal note titled 'Mater Populi Fidelis' ('Mother of the Faithful People of God'), the dicastery said the title co-redemptrix or co-redeemer 'carries the risk of eclipsing the exclusive role of Jesus Christ" in salvation. And, regarding the title co-mediatrix or co-mediator, it said that Mary, 'the first redeemed, could not have been the mediatrix of the grace that she herself received.' However, it said, the title may be used when it does not cast doubt on 'the unique mediation of Jesus Christ, true God and true man.'"

"The church believes that those in heaven can pray and intercede for people still on earth, and, among those chosen and glorified with Christ, first and foremost is his Mother,' the note said. 'Therefore, we can affirm that Mary has a unique collaboration in the saving work that Christ carries out in his Church. With this intercession, Mary can become for us a motherly sign of the Lord's mercy.'"


Mary No Longer Called Co-Redemptrix – La Vista Church of Christ
They never change .... they "clarify" .... ie don't change their beliefs but use word mumbo jumbo instead
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James 5:16 - What does confess your sins to one another mean?

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Personally, I'm a very open book and have no fear of judgment because I know that we are all sinners and I do not judge others for their sin but try to instruct them in the ways of Christ.

That being said, I am reading that many are embarrassed or ashamed so this once popular action is not very popular, anymore?

I'm not sure it was ever popular in Protestant churches but I haven't lived since the beginning of when they were formed so am not an authority on this point.

Furthermore, is this why Catholics confess to priests?

Thanks, as always, for helping me! I know I always have lots of questions but you all are very good to me with your assistance.

God bless.
If a sin has directly harmed another person, you should confess it to them and ask for forgiveness.

Catholics believe a priest can forgive sins ...

they hold that the priest acts as an intermediary for God, not as an independent authority. This belief is rooted in the authority that Catholics believe Jesus gave to the apostles and their successors to forgive sins in his name. Through the sacrament of Penance or Confession, priests declare the forgiveness of sins, which Catholics believe is God's forgiveness flowing through them.

Bible teaches we can go directly to Jesus.
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