Father has to confess to make headlines (5)
I believe the answer is:
frown
'make headlines' is the definition.
(frowning might make lines in one's forehead)
'father has to confess' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'fr' (abbreviation as in a priest's title).
'has' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'to confess' becomes 'own' (I've seen this before).
'fr'+'own'='FROWN'
'to' is the link.
(Other definitions for frown that I've seen before include "Disapproving look" , "Furrow one's brows" , "Facial expression of dislike or concentration" , "Sullen look" , "Wrinkle brow" .)