Why does a catalyst not change the equilibrium position of a chemical reaction?

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dissociation of E–N — reaction mechanism Possible energy diagram for the dissociation of a covalent molecule, E–N, into its ions E⁺ and N⁻ (see text).

A catalyst does not change the equilibrium position of a chemical reaction because it accelerates the reaction in both the forward and reverse directions equally.1

In any reversible chemical reaction, equilibrium is reached when the rate of the forward reaction equals the rate of the reverse reaction. While a catalyst functions by lowering the activation energy—the energy barrier that must be overcome for a reaction to proceed—it does so for both the forward and reverse pathways. Consequently, while the catalyst significantly increases the speed at which a system reaches chemical equilibrium, it does not alter the final concentrations of reactants and products at that equilibrium point.21