Definition: Indulgences
The Roman Catholic Church claims the power to excuse or release persons from all or part of the suffering coming to them in purgatory. This is done for good acts performed or prayers said. In the middle ages, indulgences were granted in exchange for donations to the church. Thus the scandal of the selling of indulgences, which was a primary factor in bringing about the Protestant reformation. While the practice of the selling of indulgences has been condemned, the Roman Catholic Church still grants indulgences for deeds and prayers. If a devout person gains more indulgences than they need to wipe out their own time in purgatory, they may assign the excess indulgences to persons (usually deceased) of their choosing. Certain prayers take three years off one’s sentence in purgatory. Other actions, usually performed over a period of days, carry a "plenary indulgence." That is, they release a soul from all their purgatorial sentence, no matter how long. Some Roman Catholics make a practice of collecting as many plenary indulgences as they can. They assign them first to their deceased relatives, and then to the souls in purgatory with the longest sentences. Such practices are incomprehensible to Christians outside the Roman Catholic Church (and to many within it as well).
11/08/2011Vatican grants 'indulgence' for Madrid pilgrims
The Vatican on Thursday granted a "plenary indulgence" -- forgiveness from temporal penance for sins -- for attendees at the Catholic World Youth Day celebrations later this month.
Anyone who is not able to attend but prays "for the spiritual aims of this meeting and for its successful outcome" will get a partial indulgence, said the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary -- a Vatican court for the forgiveness of sins.
Indulgences are an arcane Roman Catholic Church practice administered by the Vatican that helped inspire Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation in the 16th century.
The Catholic Church traditionally grants indulgences on World Youth Days.
Pope Benedict XVI will travel to Madrid on August 18 for the last four days of the six-day World Youth Day festival at which around a million young Catholics from around the world are expected.
The Vatican said the indulgences would be conditional on pilgrims going to confession and taking communion and will be granted only following attendance at the final mass in Madrid on August 21.
Even then pilgrims will only receive the indulgence if, "having gone to confession and truly repented, they receive Holy Communion and pray in accordance with the intentions of the Holy Father," the Vatican added.
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