Confessing

During the sixties I was stationed at a Marine Barracks with seventy or so other Marines. We got back together a few years ago for the first time and have since met several times and had many conversations. We are spread all over the map both by land and by our religious beliefs. About half of us are Catholic and the rest Prostestant. The thing I have noticed is the Catholics seemed to have grown in their walk with the Lord during the forty years since I have seen them and of course some of the Protestants have but not as the Catholics have. The Catholics have a passion for their Lord and tell me they regularly have confession. That is they confess their sins. Of course since I am a Protestant I don't understand the idea of confessing to a person, a Priest or what have you. But herein lies the point I want to bring out. Why isn't it true for the Protestants that they would have grown in their walk with the Lord like the Catholics? Aren't we supposed to bring our sins before our Lord Jesus? We Protestants seem to have lost our walk with our Lord and don't confess anything to him. Most of us don't even go to him except to ask him for something if we go at all. Why is this true? This I will attempt to begin an answer next. Ronnie Morgan