Does the Roman Catholic Church teach that it is possible to have a sin forgiven apart from the sacrament of Penance?
In other words, does the Roman Catholic Church teach that it is possible for a truly penitant person to pray directly to God (without any priest administering any sacrament), and confess his or sin directly to God, ask God for forgiveness?
Does the Roman Catholic Church teach that if such a person prays directly to God (with no priest and without any sacrament) that God will forgive the sin that the penitant person confesses and asks forgivenss for?
Catholics are expected to receive forgiveness from God through a priest when possible.
In the event of an urgent situation, such as when life is in peril, a Catholic would certainly be expected to repent to God directly.
In practicality, sometimes a person feels the need to express repentance immediately to God directly following a transgression. I certainly do that. A Catholic is expected to then attend confession at the next opportunity and confess all significant sins since the last confession before a priest. This isn't because the priest thinks God is incapable of granting absolution on His own (lol). It is simply because of the necessity of completeness, so that a penitant individual not pick and choose which sins he includes during the Sacrament.