Posted on 12/06/2007 5:26:23 AM PST by kellynla
Pope Benedict XVI is offering relief from purgatory to Roman Catholics who travel to Lourdes over the next year, the Vatican said yesterday.
Pilgrims to the shrine in south-west France will receive "plenary indulgences" from the Pontiff, which the Church says reduce the time spent being "washed" of sin after death. The indulgences will be available from this weekend until Dec 8, 2008.
The Church teaches that people who do not go directly to heaven must spend time in purgatory, where they can be purified of residual sin.
It is the latest initiative to get more pilgrims to the shrine, famous for the reported healing properties of its water. In August the Vatican opened an airline service offering pilgrims direct flights from Rome to Lourdes.
For those who cannot make the journey to France, the Pope will also grant indulgences to Catholics who pray at places of worship dedicated to the Madonna of Lourdes from Feb 2 to Feb 11. Indulgences may also be granted under special circumstances to people too sick to visit the shrine, the Vatican said.
The offer comes as the shrine prepares to commemorate the 150th anniversary of when the Madonna was said to have appeared to a peasant girl in 1858.
The Pope is expected to visit next year, possibly in September or October.
Definitely a “Catholic” thing here.
There’s obviously nothing like this mentioned in the Bible.
“Hey, we have a special on plenary indulgences! But act now, because the sale is over come Dec. 8, 2008!”
“Come see our amazing waters and enjoy a premium upgrade into Heaven.”
AAAARRGGHH!!!
ONE WEEK after the pope wrote a beautifully written document, debunking the time-accounting way of looking at plenary indulgences, the media reasserts its idiocy.
Consider the source. It figures that The Telegraph, roughly equivalent to our National Enquirer, would put things in such breathlessly oversimplistic terms as possible. One gets the impression that, prior to writing the article, the auther never heard of indulgences, had but the vaguest notion of what Purgatory entails, and still doesn’t know even the background story to what transpired at Lourdes in 1858.
The UK is filled with nothing much more than pagans and Muslims. Christianity there truly has but a remnant status.
We should make an interfaith covenant that we RCs won't believe what the MSM say about Protestants if they won't believe what the MSM says about us.
A few random thoughts on purgatory by a “drunken German monk:”
6. The pope cannot remit any guilt, except by declaring that it has been remitted by God and by assenting to God’s remission; though, to be sure, he may grant remission in cases reserved to his judgment. If his right to grant remission in such cases were despised, the guilt would remain entirely unforgiven
15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair.
16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven seem to differ as do despair, almost-despair, and the assurance of safety.
17. With souls in purgatory it seems necessary that horror should grow less and love increase.
21. Therefore those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope’s indulgences a man is freed from every penalty, and saved;
22. Whereas he remits to souls in purgatory no penalty which, according to the canons, they would have had to pay in this life.
26. The pope does well when he grants remission to souls [in purgatory], not by the power of the keys (which he does not possess), but by way of intercession.
31. Rare as is the man that is truly penitent, so rare is also the man who truly buys indulgences, i.e., such men are most rare.
36. Every truly repentant Christian has a right to full remission of penalty and guilt, even without letters of pardon.
82. To wit: — “Why does not the pope empty purgatory, for the sake of holy love and of the dire need of the souls that are there, if he redeems an infinite number of souls for the sake of miserable money with which to build a Church? The former reasons would be most just; the latter is most trivial.”
89. “Since the pope, by his pardons, seeks the salvation of souls rather than money, why does he suspend the indulgences and pardons granted heretofore, since these have equal efficacy?”
Does this mean that some Catholics are hoping their stay in Purgatory gets to be tea and cookies? You know, kinda like the white collar country club prison?
The British press has followed, or perhaps that should be led, the British flight into insanity.
I hope he's sobered up by now.
A comprehensive explanation of indulgences, including the basis of the doctrine, the authoritative teaching of the church, who may grant them, the various kinds, the dispositions necessary to obtain one and......yes.....abuses too.
Well worth a read to clear up the misconceptions which constitute 95% of what is written and said on this subject.
When he gets something basic like this so completely wrong, why should his ideas on any other topic seem persuasive?
Purgatory is not despair, almost-despair, kinda despair, sorta despair, or any other kind of despair. The souls in purgatory are completely, perfectly, and constantly assured of their own salvation.
I’m game. My faith, LDS, has been trashed and distorted a great deal since Mitt Romney announced his candidacy. I know the media almost always gets large parts of religion wrong. Incidentally, a long time ago when encyclopedia sets were sold door to door, I remember someone advising a prospective buyer to check the entry on some subject about which they knew a great deal. Depending on how accurate the entry, one could judge the entire work. The same applies to media, as least as far as religious topics are concerned. You have the benefit of my doubt and my respect for Pope Benedict XVI.
It is rather ironic that people who no better than to trust the media on current events are more than willing to accept everything they have to say about religious teachings that go back hundreds or even thousands of years. It is a lot like the way the ‘Rats this week have suddenly decided that the intelligence community knows exactly what they are doing because the NIE said what they wanted to hear.
What many fail to realize is that the REAL ENEMY is not the Protestants, Catholics, Mormons or Jews, the REAL ENEMY is Satan and the left is doing his bidding. The left seeks to destroy our traditional Judeo-Christian culture and they are doing systematically. Catholicism has ALWAYS been a primary target of the left simply because of its size; Mormonism has been left alone for a long time because they are not as big a target, all of that has changed because of Romney (back in 2000, if Joe Lieberman had been a Republican, we would have seen all sorts of stories designed to make orthodox Judaism seem bizarre). I truly believe that the ONLY thing that can divide His people is Satan and I truly believe that the time is coming when Catholics, Evangelicals, Mormons and Jews are going to be sharing jail cells simply because we are believers, so we better start getting clear on who the enemy is.
“What many fail to realize is that the REAL ENEMY is not the Protestants, Catholics, Mormons or Jews, the REAL ENEMY is Satan and the left is doing his bidding.”
Theologically speaking, Protestants, Catholics and Jews all use texts written by Yahweh.
Mormons and Muslims do not use use texts written by Yahweh.
Fear not, I have no intention of believing what the MSM says about your guys.
And isn't my German Shepherd COOL? I like him more and more!
Not clear about the time table but I sho' endorse the principle.
I’d say he’s a keeper.
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