By means of the sacrament of holy orders, Catholic priests have the faculties to hear confessions and grant reconciliation. When a priest hears confessions — or confers any sacrament, for that matter — he is acting as Christ’s representative. The Church refers to this as acting in persona Christi, or in the person of Christ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1548).
All priests should desire to carry out a holy ministry and to confer the sacraments in a way that leads others to Christ. However, sometimes the mix of personalities in the confessional makes it difficult for the one confessing to feel comfortable with the one hearing the confession and vice versa.
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