How Was John’s Baptism Different Than the Sacrament of Baptism?

No, John could not forgive sins, or, more precisely, he could not absolve people of their sins. His baptism was a baptism of repentance, which prefigured the redemptive baptism won by the merits of Jesus Christ through his sacrifice of Calvary, i.e., the sacrament of baptism (CCC 1213-1216). Baptism absolves one of all his sins and gives him new life in God through the indwelling of the Holy Trinity (see CCC 1262-1270).