Confession:

John 20:19-23:
19On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where
the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said
to them, Peace be with you. 20When he had said this, he showed them his hands
and his side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21[Jesus] said to them
again, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. 22And when
he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, Receive the holy Spirit.
23Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are
retained.
Leviticus 19: 20-22: A man who committed adultery had to bring a guilt offering
for himself to the door of the tent of meeting (holy place where the ark of the
covenant, which contained Gods true presence was kept). But then it adds And
the priest shall make atonement for him before the Lord for his sinand the
sin which he has committed shall be forgiven. (see also Leviticus 5: 5-6) The
priest could not make atonement if he were not aware of the man's sin. He is acting
as a mediator for the repentant sinner.
Purgatory:
I Peter 3:17-19:

17For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.
18For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he
might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. 19In it he
also went to preach to the spirits in prison, 20who had once been disobedient while God patiently
waited in the days of Noah during the building of the ark, in which a few persons, eight in all,
were saved through water.
I Corinthians 3:15
But if someones work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be
saved, but only as through fire.
Ordination of Priests:
Acts 6:1-6

Upon this Rock I Will Build My Church: Peter (Petra) in Greek/Aramaic?

means rock
True ability to interpret scripture and preserve the teachings of Christ are only fully
possible within the Catholic Church. This is evidenced by the wide array of
Protestantism, which hold a large amount of conflicting teachings (an example is
the necessity of Baptism) even though all claim to be interpreting the Bible
correctly. Although much truth exists in other Christian religions, the only infallible
truth lies within the Bible and the Traditions of the Catholic Church. If Christ had not
established a teaching, living, apostolic church then how could we properly
understand the doctrines of the Bible? Note that 2 Peter 1:20 says "know this first of
all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation".
And even the Ethiopian eunuch on his way to Damascus while trying to interpret
scripture asks for Philip's help (who is ordained as a priest in Acts 6:5). "Philip ran up
and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, "Do you understand what you
are reading?" He replied "How can I unless someone instructs me?" (Acts 8:30-31)
Thus the church has the authority to properly teach the doctrines of faith for our
salvation. This is why I am Catholic. Because without the Church I can't be sure that
Christ's teachings are being properly preserved. If you read the Father's of the
Church their writings correlate with Catholic views on a ministerial priesthood, the
sacraments and many other Catholic doctrines. The first Christians themselves were
Catholics. Acts 6:1-6 shows the establishment of the priesthood under the apostles
of the Church.

This moment, when Jesus breathed on his apostles, constituted both the institution of the
Catholic ministerial priesthood and the sacrament of confession. Christ gave his first priests, the
apostles, the authority to forgive and retain sins. It was his intention that all sin be forgiven
though the Church by aural confession of sins to the priests. We should realize that in Holy
Scripture God breathed on man only twice: once when he breathed life into the clay of earth to
create man (Genesis 2:7) and the second time when he breathed the life of grace into his Church.
Both instances were that of an intimate, riveting moment between God and man. It is clear that
the ability to forgive and retain sin given to the apostles, requires that each of us (even to this
day) confess our sins to the priests of the Church so that our sins can be forgiven or retained.