I just don’t understand the Catholic Church. They are offering plenary indulgence (keep reading for the explanation!) to those who are involved in:
“accompanying the WYD [World Youth Day] CROSS on its journey through the countries of Oceania; this includes anyone who devotedly takes part in a sacred ceremony carried out publicly in honour of the CROSS of the “WORLD YOUTH DAY” solemnly exposed, or at least be attentive in the presence of this same CROSS by means of access in a public place either in a large crowd or alone, in a state of pious contemplation and prayer, including recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and the Profession of Faith in a legitimate creedal formula, and also a prayerful invocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
Plenary indulgence (I have just learnt) is purification, granted in special circumstances by the Catholic church, for sins previously committed. According to the WYD website, these indulgences can be used by us, or by those we know who are in Pergatory (i.e. you can gain indulgences to help those who are trying to work their way back into God’s favour in Pergatory).
In effect, the Catholic church is offering a bribe. Get involved in World Youth Day, and be purified from your sins.
This is despite the fact that the Bible tells us that our “righteous acts are like filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) and that Jesus sacrifice on the cross was once for all “and where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin”. Either your sins have been forgiven by faith in Jesus death on your behalf, or you need to have faith in Jesus death on your behalf to forgive you for your sins. The church is encouraging people to do something in order to be right with God, and this is contrary to everything the Bible teaches, and makes a mockery of the sacrifice Jesus made. If we could do something to be saved, Jesus would not have needed to die.
Jesus, and not the Catholic or any other church, has the power and authority to forgive. As Jesus says when he heals the paralytic in Luke 5: “Which is easier: to say ‘your sins are forgiven,’ or to say ‘get up and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”
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Catholism and Protestantism are different enough that calling them both Christianity is really a bit strange; though I’d like to see what sort of holy war we get if one of them tried to claim it as their own.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains a lot of stuff that doesn’t really have necessarily biblical roots; and it’s pretty much a third holy book in the Catholic faith. (I’ve now offended some Catholics.)
Well . . . not exactly, though the difference between “forgiveness of sin” and the way the Catholic Church understands indulgences can be difficult to understand.
First, it’s important to understand that the Catholic Church (whether or not you see it this way yourself) understands Christ’s statement about “binding and loosing” in Matthew 16 was made directly to Peter on the heels of proclaiming that he was the rock on which the church would be built and giving him the keys of the kingdom. Therefore, the body of Christ, the Church, has been given the responsibility and privilege of a certain stewardship over the post-sin reconciliation process.
This does not mean that anyone but Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. Sin ruptures our relationship with God; repentance and God’s forgiveness are necessary to restore us. But there’s a second consequence: there’s an earthly consequence to sin. Perhaps habitual lying increases our suspicion of our loved ones because we expect they would also be lying to us, for example. Regardless, there’s an effect on our relationship with the body of believers — the Church. And some of our trials stem from the effects of our sins, even though we may have asked for and received God’s forgiveness.
That second effect of sin – not a punishment but the logical effect of cutting ourselves off from the grace of God by choosing our own way instead of his – is called the temporal consequence of sin (as opposed to the eternal consequences of sin). Faithful carrying out of an activity such as that described in the post (together with significant inner preparation, such as examining yourself to make sure you’re not ‘attached’ to sin) can be an opportunity for God’s free grace to flow so the temporal struggles that, in God’s hands, make us more dependent on him can be relieved.
So indulgences are offered to people who have already repented and been forgiven of their sins. They are part of the sanctification process, not the salvation process.
They are not a bribe, because we’re talking consequences, not punishments. It’s not asking for an “early out”. It’s asking God to speed up the process so we can be more like him and shorten the period of suffering (i.e. learn the lesson faster, perhaps).
This is only a rough sketch, and I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not an expert. But I’m trying to articulate my understanding as best I can so that, if we disagree, we can agt least disagree with the facts in hand
And I’d be happy to address the “Catechism as a non-biblical third holy book” statement, but I don’t want to hog the floor. Suffice it to say that it’s not true. But, if I were in your position, it could seem true.
God bless you.
Roz
Michigan, USA
Hi Roz, thanks for taking the time to write in and add some clarity to a subject that I don’t know much about, but am clearly suspicious about! Your explanation of the process makes sense on one level, although I struggle to see the Biblical precedent for this idea. I guess this is one of the areas where Catholics and Protestants differ – in the role of the church to determine how we should live.
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