Bishops Offer Ways to Reduce Time in Purgatory
[Proclaiming
the Gospel Ministries: Bishops Offer Ways to Reduce Time in Purgatory
]
"Dioceses around the world have been offering Catholics spiritual benefits in
the form of indulgences, a sort of amnesty from punishment in the afterlife. The
indulgence is a reminder of Rome's clout in mitigating the wages of sin. Martin
Luther denounced the selling of them in 1517 igniting the Protestant
Reformation. With a thousand-year history and volumes of church law devoted to
its intricacies, it is one of the most complicated doctrines 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, 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, until another sin is committed. You can get one for
yourself, or for someone who is dead. Charitable contributions, combined with
other acts, can help you earn one. There is a limit of one plenary indulgence
per sinner per day. Getting Catholics back into confession was one of the
motivations for reintroducing the indulgence. In a 2001 speech, Pope John Paul
described the newly reborn tradition as "a happy incentive" for confession."
Story
Family Guy Purgatory Vacation
See:
No Purgatory
Response to comment [from a "Christian"]: [Indulgences] "You mean its on sale this week? Wow."
As a reminder, Keypurr is number 1 on Satan, Inc. (TOL's heretic's list) in the 'Jesus is not God' people (Non-trinitarians) category.
