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NOT INDULGENCES ANTI-LOVE? Love cannot be bought or sold. We must be very ignorant about love to have invented such a system that seems so contrary to God’s Word. *** Let me clarify what is missing from the harshly worded statement above: a clear explanation of Church doctrine on indulgences. It is true that love is not for sale. The Lutheran reform, for example, was against an indulgence granted for the material construction of a new Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Council of Trent in the 16th century put an end to any further abuses and reaffirmed the legitimacy of indulgences. Indulgences are not anti-love: on the contrary, they are a manifestation of God’s love. They reveal God’s goodness, his mercy, his ... indulgence. They never go against the Word of God. To gain an indulgence, certain conditions have to be fulfilled as indicated in the following paragraphs. Chief among them are the inner dispositions of the faithful, an openness to God’s love, the exclusion of attachment to sin. Indulgences are the remission, partial or total, of the temporal pain due to sins already forgiven (Canon Law, Can. 992-993). The Lord has entrusted to his pastors his divine power to forgive sins, to bind or to loose (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No 1478). Why should we object to indulgences? They are but a complement to the forgiveness of sins. The Church, when certain conditions are fulfilled, adds a total or partial remission of the temporal pain that sins already forgiven have incurred. Civil courts may grant the remission of a punishment or change it into something else. The Church does the same for the temporal punishment due to forgiven sins. The indulgence offers a substitute for, or else totally abolishes the temporal punishment attached to sin. To gain an indulgence, we must perform the prescribed action, for example we recite certain prayers, visit a church, console the sick, or give alms to the poor. For a plenary indulgence, we must also go to confession, receive Holy Communion and pray for the Pope’s intentions. Good interior dispositions, such as remorse for our sins and love for God and neighbor, are always required. Indulgences reveal God’s love for us. |