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In recent months, dioceses around the world have been offering Catholics a spiritual benefit that fell out of favor decades ago — the indulgence, a sort of amnesty from punishment in the afterlife — and reminding them of the church’s clout in mitigating the wages of sin…
“Why are we bringing it back?” asked Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn, who has embraced the move. “Because there is sin in the world…”
The indulgence is among the less-noticed, less-disputed traditions to be restored. But with a thousand-year history and volumes of church law devoted to its intricacies, it is one of the most complicated to explain.
According to church teaching, even after sinners are absolved in the confessional and say their Our Fathers or Hail Marys as penance, they still face punishment after death, in Purgatory before they can enter heaven. In exchange for certain prayers, devotions or pilgrimages in special years, a Catholic can receive an indulgence, which reduces or erases that punishment instantly, with no formal ceremony or sacrament.
There are partial indulgences, which reduce purgatorial time by a certain number of days or years, and plenary indulgences, which eliminate all of it. You can get one for yourself, or for someone else, living or dead. You cannot buy one — the church outlawed the sale of indulgences in 1857 — but charitable contributions, combined with other acts, can help you earn one. There is a limit of one plenary indulgence per sinner per day…
“Confessions have been down for years and the church is very worried about it,” said the Rev. Tom Reese, a Jesuit and former editor of the weekly Catholic magazine America. In a secularized culture of pop psychology and self-help, he said, “the church wants the idea of ‘personal sin’ back in the equation. Indulgences are a way of reminding people of the importance of penance.
I am old enough to remember how they worked. One of my uncles sent a very big check to the vatican – plus a smaller check was turned over to his local parish – and “poof” his marriage disappeared.
Thanks, Mr Justin
The Catholic Church’s idea of a derivative commodity. Not too dissimilar to the subprime mortgage derivatives that have poisoned Wall Street and the big banks. So yeah, great idea! Screw things up tomorrow, for a little bit of quick cash today. Hey Pope, you do know the revolution will be coming after you, don’t cha?
#29. Since He didn’t send stone tablets down from heaven again, they had to do it themselves.
What should they have done, assemble ALL writings in existence at the time, no matter how fictitious they may be?
If they had, wouldn’t we be here in this same place, with you saying: “They took everything they could find, and slapped it together. Doesn’t sound like a Holy Book, more like a novel?”
Moonie,
Many times I have heard that the bible was written by the hand of “god”. Yet, you are not claiming that it was the church that picked which writings to include to serve their purpose.
So even if “god” didn’t want the priests to wear dresses, because that didn’t fit into the book chosen for the final edition, we still have priests wearing frilly dresses. What if “god” didn’t want his people to eat pork? Or fish? Or whole wheat leavened bread? Or drink wine but not beer unless they are watching a Notre Dame Football game?
Do I note a disconnect somewhere here?
#33
Geeze, forgive O Great Spelling God. The second sentence in that post should read:
Yet, you are now claiming that it was the church that picked which writings to include to serve their purpose.
My apologies to the readers and the Great Spelling God.
Yes, you note a disconnect between fundamentalist religions whose basic doctrine is “SOLA SCRIPTURA” (only in the Bible) and the Catholic Church who places value not only in the Bible, but also on tradition.
So, we have priests in frilly dresses (just like nearly every other organization has ceremonial dress) … not because it’s spelled out in the Bible but because it’s “tradition.”
We don’t look to the Bible for specific instructions on how to conduct ourselves every minute of our lives… we look to it for guidance.
Sorry you’ve obviously had negative experiences with some Bible-Thumping fanatics. Don’t lump all us crazy Christians into the same pile. I’ll reciprocate by not throwing you in with the rest of the “heathens.” :^)
Fusion: I read it as:
Yet, you are not… (you are)claiming that it was the church that picked which writings to include to serve their purpose.
I’ve never claimed otherwise (although I am painfully aware of those who do.) I do believe that the people who selected the included works were “inspired” or “guided” by God to select those works which represented the teachings of Jesus as they were intended.
I do NOT believe the fiery hand of God reached down with a pen and cranked out the Bible.
But I think my reply above applies to both your corrected spelling or my initial interpretation.
#35, Moonie,
Tradition?
You mean, uuugh, things like burning heretics?
Or only allowing someone into heaven if you put some
water, (ahem) special water on their forehead and said a few words?Or asking “god” to fix the things he created, like my nieces spina bifida?
Or condemning us to burn forever in hell if we don’t follow the traditional practice of the catholic church?
Or condemning a woman only because she is a woman?
Or deciding that a priest has dominion over a woman’s reproductive system?
Or building huge cathedrals to the god that doesn’t want us to have icons?
OK, them there those traditions. Yup, gotcha.
#36 moondawg wrote, “I do believe that the people who selected the included works were “inspired” or “guided” by God to select those works which represented the teachings of Jesus as they were intended.”
I just hope they had the good sense to burn candles and incense to set the right mood for supernatural inspiration, and perhaps even make sure the stars were in alignment, before embarking on their their holy mission of voting on which scriptures to include.
Unfortunately, whatever precautions they took to exclude the forces of darkness from their process, mistakes were apparently made. The mix of scriptures that comprise the Bible has changed since those earliest days. Since the process resulted in a product that may be flawed, it’s now up to Christians to cherry pick for themselves according to their own divine inspiration.