only possible through the ministry of a separate and validly ordained
Catholic priesthood.
The following verse of St. Paul is also significant:
“But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder,
because of the grace given me by God to be a minister (Leitourgon) of
Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service (hierorgounta) of the
gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 15:16).
Leitourgon is the Greek parent from which is derived the modern word
liturgy, understood as public religious worship or service. Protestants claim
that Leitourgon here only refers to the public service of preaching the word
of God. However, such an argument runs into difficulty in the light of
Hebrews 8:1-2 which uses the same word to describe the very priesthood of
Christ: “Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high
priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in
heaven, a minister (Leitourgon) in the sanctuary and the true tent which is
set up not by man but by the Lord.” Furthermore, the term hierorgounta
(from hiereus meaning priest) used to describe St. Paul’s Gospel work
implies a work which is more than simple preaching, for the office of
priest, as understood by the Jews, always involved the carrying out of
material sacrifices.
However, the Sacrifice of the Mass shows only one side of the priesthood.
The other side is the power of forgiving sin. That Christ solemnly bestowed
the power and authority on the Apostles to remit and retain sins is evident
from St. John 20:21-23:
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you ... Receive the Holy Spirit. If you
forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any,
they are retained.”
In this verse we see that Christ bestowed upon His Apostles the following:
(i) mission (“As the Father has sent me, so I send you…”); (ii) power
(“Receive the Holy Spirit”), and (iii) discretion whether or not to exercise
this power (“If you forgive…; if you retain.”). This verse cannot be
explained away by claiming that the Apostles were simply authorized to go
out and preach forgiveness according to the following injunction: “that
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