John, Chapter 20:
verse 21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.
http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-forgiveness-of-sins
Just saw a priest on Fox that said that priests don’t forgive sins, God does the actual forgiving and the priest is just an emissary/agent. He also said that Francis wasn’t condoning abortion as he considers it a serious sin but was saying that God is bigger than any of our sins if we go to Him. Makes sense to me.
For once, a Catholic actually refers to Scripture! ;-)