Remember we take the part about personal sin harming the entire Body of Christ and that confessing to one another heals that as extremely important.
To confess to another person is not necessary for salvation, it was a symbolism to always been honest and truthful with each other and not to lie. If you go to God in prayer in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness that is all you need to do, and you will be forgiven.
We do not have to go through another person for that. The bible says that our Lord Jesus is our mediator to God, and we only have to ask in His name and it shall be done. It does not say Jesus, and other men are mediator's. Just Jesus is, we do not have to go through others, and do penance for forgiveness of that sin.
There are only two possibilities here: You are nuts, or the person that taught you RCIA was nuts. That the Vatican visited you, showed you documents and returned them to the Vatican - all in some parish in the midwest is the most absurd thing I have heard on a forum.
That would be an relic of the true cross and there are many of those in existence.
If you don't believe the Vatican at times sends their own personal priest's to visit different Catholic churches around the world, and then return back over there. I guess your church has not had a visit yet to your knowledge, and it is a well known fact that the pope does travel from time to time. When he does he visit's some of the catholic churches in the area where he is at.
Being in the catholic church, and learning to become a priest yourself like you said you did. I should not have to tell you the exact details on how the Romans defiled the church. If you don't know, your studies have not been to well informed. The Romans corrupting the early catholic church is well known documented history, you don't even have to be a catholic to know this information. Yet you who are in, and said studied to become a priest don't know.
The other thing is preacher, priest, and pastor don't not mean differently to me. They all refer to the same position in the church, just different titles. They are still just brother's and sister's in Christ, not above us or below us, we are all the same in the body. The title I don't agree with is them going by father, Jesus specially said not to.