Getting something off your chest could mean many things. Why would one think they have to do anything more than try to resolve it inside their own minds for they are the ones that made their problems and therefore they should be the ones to resolve them.
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M*W: As a former catholic, I questioned the sacrament of confession to a mortal man i.e. priest. It never made sense to me. I felt that whatever sins I had committed, I could deal directly with god (not Jesus) for any atonement I may have needed.
But while I was a practicing catholic, the Church moved toward getting away from the confessional booth to a more open and personal confession of sins face-to-face. They then called it the Sacrament of Reconciliation. That made more sense to me. Instead of focusing on the negative, that ritual (practice) focused more on the positive aspect of sinfulness. Still, I wasn't satisfied. If this all-powerful god they preached about needed a mortal man to do its work, I lost faith in the system of forgiveness of sin. It just didn't make any sense to me. I've even attended the Sacrament of Reconciliation where a nun was the confessor. Don't ask me why, but I guess I came from a very progressive RCC. Even then, from my previous teachings, women could not perform these sacraments, so I questioned the legitimacy of their wishy-washy doctrine.
The aim of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (an upgrade of the Sacrament of Confession) was to focus on getting right with god rather than just dwelling on the bad things we had done. I could accept that, but now, as an atheist, I understand the whole point of Confession and Reconciliation was to make us aware (and accept responsibility) for our own actions and how that might affect our selves, family and each other, and bottom-line, the Holy Mother, the Church.
It doesn't matter if the "sin" is murder, rape, or stealing a parking space. What it boils down to is an infringement or act of inhospitality to our fellow man (see the story of S&G), we negatively impact ourselves and the rest of the human race. I am speaking about this from an atheist viewpoint. There is no god in heaven to judge us, but we will always be able to judge our own actions. The problem lies in that we need to recognize the infractions we've done to the cumulative body and psyche of humankind. No church, no sacrament, no mortal human, is required for this enlightenment. When we recognize our short comings and failures against our neighbors, we can move on to heal the situation. No "Hail Mary"'s and no "Our Fathers" can free one's soul from sin. Just recognizing one's actions and taking responsibility for them is all we need to know that we have become unleashed from the burden we've caused ourselves.
Even as an atheist, forgiveness in one's heart is all that is needed to free one's mind from his own negative actions toward himself and others. No god need apply for this job.
