Confessions are down — Pope counting on a stimulus from indulgences

Published on February 10th, 2009

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In recent months, dioceses around the world have been offering Catholics a spiritual benefit that fell out of favor decades ago — the indulgence, a sort of amnesty from punishment in the afterlife — and reminding them of the church’s clout in mitigating the wages of sin…

“Why are we bringing it back?” asked Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn, who has embraced the move. “Because there is sin in the world…”

The indulgence is among the less-noticed, less-disputed traditions to be restored. But with a thousand-year history and volumes of church law devoted to its intricacies, it is one of the most complicated 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 in special years, 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. You can get one for yourself, or for someone else, living or dead. You cannot buy one — the church outlawed the sale of indulgences in 1857 — but charitable contributions, combined with other acts, can help you earn one. There is a limit of one plenary indulgence per sinner per day…

“Confessions have been down for years and the church is very worried about it,” said the Rev. Tom Reese, a Jesuit and former editor of the weekly Catholic magazine America. In a secularized culture of pop psychology and self-help, he said, “the church wants the idea of ‘personal sin’ back in the equation. Indulgences are a way of reminding people of the importance of penance.

I am old enough to remember how they worked. One of my uncles sent a very big check to the vatican – plus a smaller check was turned over to his local parish – and “poof” his marriage disappeared.

Thanks, Mr Justin

38 users responded in " Confessions are down — Pope counting on a stimulus from indulgences "

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# 1 Sea Lawyer said, on February 10th, 2009 at 7:04 am

Ah, religion…

# 2 Named said, on February 10th, 2009 at 7:10 am

I’ll bet David Vitter will be making some purchases before his election…

# 3 Olo Baggins of Bywater said, on February 10th, 2009 at 7:19 am

Who said you can’t buy your way to heaven?

# 4 Thinker said, on February 10th, 2009 at 7:30 am

What, they didn’t learn from Luther the first time around???

# 5 Greg Allen said, on February 10th, 2009 at 7:37 am

Since conservatives never, NEVER EVER admit to their mistakes, that’s gotta bring down the numbers.

# 6 dogday said, on February 10th, 2009 at 7:50 am

Expect a non-Biblical organization to promote practice that is self aggrandizing.

# 7 Mr. Fusion said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:14 am

When the church is led by isolated old men who don’t have an effen clue about the world, this is what you end up with. The sooner the whole catholic church crumbles into obscurity the better off the world will be.

# 8 moondawg said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:16 am

#6, The Catholic Church is non-biblical?

Oh, you mean non-KJV organization. Non-KJV STANDARD version, probably. The one with the mistakes. The one “translated” from the original Hebrew and Greek. Hmmm… who collected those stories and determined that they constituted “The Bible?”

Oh yeah, that non-Biblical organization, the Catholic Church.

Maybe you mean “non-Biblical” in that most Catholics can’t quote lines of scripture.

Maybe you mean “non-Biblical” in that the Catholic Church gives importance to its Catechism(derived from tradition as well as Holy Scripture.)

Maybe you mean “non-Biblical” in that Catholics are free to believe that Genesis may be a fanciful tale about how God created the Earth…. rather than a factual one. (as long as we believe that God created the Earth)

Maybe you just mean “non-Lutheran” as our Bible still contains all that nasty stuff that Martin Luther saw fit to rip out.

The Catholic Church has faults. Not adhering to the Bible, however…. not one of them. A better case could be made that most Protestant churches are non-Biblical, as they have made the most changes through the years to suit their theological needs…. but I guess that’s a separate argument.

# 9 Named said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:18 am

Why stop at Catholicism? The Big Three need to be taken down a notch…

The Hindus would be a bit harder since there are so many damn Gods…

# 10 Named said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:20 am

Nicely done. Of course, I can be glib since in my youth I was raised Orthodox and had church services in Aramaic. Catholics were pagans in my eyes…

# 11 Mr. Fusion said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:30 am

#8, moony,

The catholic church had a cherry picking contest when they wrote the bible. They ignored the sections they didn’t like over the sections that suited their purpose.

Regardless, anyone professing that someone “magical” in the sky is responsible for everything is all the same. No, we don’t know everything about the universe and the planet we live on. We do know enough that all the church’s claims have been thoroughly debunked.

Unless, of course, there is something about “god” that is true. Oh, for instance, say, … how “god” created the universe? Or, why “god” in his infinite “wisdom” crippled my beautiful niece with spina bifida while allowing her fat slob of an ignorant mother to go on with life?

Please feel free to present any evidence you may have.

# 12 Improbus said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:35 am

What? Does the Pope need a new pair of ruby slippers? The current Pope is not nearly the “shepard” and teacher that John Paul was.

# 13 Rob said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:36 am

What a load of crap.

# 14 Named said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:38 am

11,

The catholic church had a cherry picking contest when they wrote the bible. They ignored the sections they didn’t like over the sections that suited their purpose.

Not exactly. At the start of Catholicism, the Roman Emperors had to balance between Christianity and Paganism. The most obvious example is Christmas / Saturnalia.

JC was more of a philosopher than a religious leader. He was all for demolishing the existing religious power structure for the old Do Unto Others golden rule thingy… which is more Buddhist and less theist…

I hope science can cure or prevent bifida one day…

# 15 Floyd said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:47 am

#14: Plenty of cherry picking has gone on over the centuries. That’s why the Catholic, Protestant, and other Christian bibles exist.

The “Do Unto Others” golden rule is the only part of any of those Bibles that rings true, and is found in many other religions.

# 16 Named said, on February 10th, 2009 at 8:49 am

15,

that’s why I called it the golden rule thingy… every single religion and philosophy has it.

# 17 huskergrrl said, on February 10th, 2009 at 9:42 am

#8
Of course the Catholic Church adheres to the Bible. They are the ones that made it up in the first place.

Yes, I know I’m going to hell for that one.

# 18 Dallas said, on February 10th, 2009 at 9:43 am

Pope should lower the cost of forgiveness from 18 Hail Mary’s to 12 for non-violent offenses.

Wednesday forgiveness SALE: Any three at 8 HM’s

# 19 Nimby said, on February 10th, 2009 at 9:56 am

I hope they’re cheap since we all know the rich man has such a small chance of entering heaven.

# 20 bobbo said, on February 10th, 2009 at 9:57 am

The Golden Rule?—How would god like to be judged by someone he doesn’t believe in but is powerful enough to do it?

# 21 Mr. Fusion said, on February 10th, 2009 at 10:56 am

#14, Named

I hope science can cure or prevent bifida one day…

The cause of spina bifida is well understood. It is a lack of folic acid during the first few months of pregnancy. All the praying in the world won’t give the fetus any folic acid if the mother doesn’t consume any.

The result of the disease causes spinal deformities. Corrective operations can often relieve some of the symptoms, but not cure it.

# 22 Named said, on February 10th, 2009 at 11:06 am

20,

Buddhism also utilizes the Golden Rule without having a God, so not sure what you’re trying to get at.

# 23 MikeN said, on February 10th, 2009 at 11:11 am

Stop handing out annulments.

# 24 Gary, the dangerous infidel said, on February 10th, 2009 at 11:33 am

The Catholic Church needs to impose strict regulation over these practices. In the 16th century, Martin Luther exposed the Pope’s massive “Indulgence Bubble,” which subsequently collapsed into a great depression of the Church’s income when the Protestants broke away, refusing to bail out the Church and its hierarchy’s many excesses.

This is no time to repeat the mistakes of the past.

# 25 Ron Larson said, on February 10th, 2009 at 12:01 pm

What a racket. Create a problem, then sell a solution. Perfect.

# 26 moondawg said, on February 10th, 2009 at 12:12 pm

#11, “The catholic church had a cherry picking contest when they wrote the bible. They ignored the sections they didn’t like over the sections that suited their purpose.”

OF COURSE THEY DID. To use a somewhat cyclic Biblical reference, they had to “separate the wheat from the chaff.”

There are many apocryphal writings that didn’t make it into the Bible (by definition, I guess!) But, it wasn’t just slapped together in a couple of weekends over beer and nachos. The Church basically said: We need to assemble those writings which we believe are TRUE, and which profess our beliefs. If it doesn’t meet those criteria, it’s out.

I just think it’s hilarious (and more than a little disingenuous) to call the Catholic Church a non-Biblical organization. Because it’s obviously from someone who holds the Bible to very high esteem… and who has never studied the history of his beloved tome.

And to those detractors out there who spew “The Catholic Church needs to ‘get with the times.’” You’re not getting something very fundamental about the Catholic Church: The things it believes don’t change. For the Church to “change with the times” would be to turn its back on all of its beliefs. It would be better for the Church to die from lack of participation…. and I say that as a Catholic.

/soapbox

# 27 Cursor_ said, on February 10th, 2009 at 2:55 pm

The touchstone as written in scripture are for priests to be ordained by The Holy Spirit.

And that order is the Order of Melchizedek.

There is to be no ordination by men.

All are open to the priesthood and the head of the order is Jesus Christ.

If you need a lambskin from an institution to be a priest, then you are no more than Levites still.

Modern Christendom is no more than Judaism with a Christ figure.

Cursor_

# 28 Rick Cain said, on February 10th, 2009 at 7:16 pm

Eliminate frilly outfits from choirboys. Its too distracting for priests and cuts down productivity.

# 29 Nimby said, on February 10th, 2009 at 7:41 pm

I still say Bah, Humbug.

Moondawg : You assert the Catholic church has created a bible from various writings and intentionally ignored others. So how is this a holy book? More of a novel.

Religion is just a way to elevate the few (the priesthood) and enslave the majority. You think Pope Nazi cares about your soul? If the Muslim clerics truly believed martyrs would be greeted by 72 virgins and eternal happiness, THEY would be the one’s strapping on explosives.

# 30 bobbo (where is Navigation Panel?) said, on February 10th, 2009 at 11:35 pm

#22–named==I’m trying to get at exactly what I posted. The catholic church believes in god and it believes in the Golden Rule as commanded by god thru his sone Jesus who is actually god pretending that he’s not Jesus while knowing everything at the same time.

Would god enjoy being treated like by a more powerful god in the same way he judges his creations? What if Supergod condemned our god to hell for eternity for not believing in him? If god knows everything, then he must have willed himself not to know about supergod just like he willed himself as Jebeesus not to know about himself.

Simple.

What does Buddha got to do with it?

# 31 Glenn E. said, on February 11th, 2009 at 12:48 am

The Catholic Church’s idea of a derivative commodity. Not too dissimilar to the subprime mortgage derivatives that have poisoned Wall Street and the big banks. So yeah, great idea! Screw things up tomorrow, for a little bit of quick cash today. Hey Pope, you do know the revolution will be coming after you, don’t cha?

# 32 moondawg said, on February 11th, 2009 at 4:36 am

#29. Since He didn’t send stone tablets down from heaven again, they had to do it themselves.

What should they have done, assemble ALL writings in existence at the time, no matter how fictitious they may be?

If they had, wouldn’t we be here in this same place, with you saying: “They took everything they could find, and slapped it together. Doesn’t sound like a Holy Book, more like a novel?”

# 33 Mr. Fusion said, on February 11th, 2009 at 6:36 am

Moonie,

Many times I have heard that the bible was written by the hand of “god”. Yet, you are not claiming that it was the church that picked which writings to include to serve their purpose.

So even if “god” didn’t want the priests to wear dresses, because that didn’t fit into the book chosen for the final edition, we still have priests wearing frilly dresses. What if “god” didn’t want his people to eat pork? Or fish? Or whole wheat leavened bread? Or drink wine but not beer unless they are watching a Notre Dame Football game?

Do I note a disconnect somewhere here?

# 34 Mr. Fusion said, on February 11th, 2009 at 7:56 am

#33

Geeze, forgive O Great Spelling God. The second sentence in that post should read:

Yet, you are now claiming that it was the church that picked which writings to include to serve their purpose.

My apologies to the readers and the Great Spelling God.

# 35 moondawg said, on February 11th, 2009 at 7:56 am

Yes, you note a disconnect between fundamentalist religions whose basic doctrine is “SOLA SCRIPTURA” (only in the Bible) and the Catholic Church who places value not only in the Bible, but also on tradition.

So, we have priests in frilly dresses (just like nearly every other organization has ceremonial dress) … not because it’s spelled out in the Bible but because it’s “tradition.”

We don’t look to the Bible for specific instructions on how to conduct ourselves every minute of our lives… we look to it for guidance.

Sorry you’ve obviously had negative experiences with some Bible-Thumping fanatics. Don’t lump all us crazy Christians into the same pile. I’ll reciprocate by not throwing you in with the rest of the “heathens.” :^)

# 36 moondawg said, on February 11th, 2009 at 8:02 am

Fusion: I read it as:

Yet, you are not… (you are)claiming that it was the church that picked which writings to include to serve their purpose.

I’ve never claimed otherwise (although I am painfully aware of those who do.) I do believe that the people who selected the included works were “inspired” or “guided” by God to select those works which represented the teachings of Jesus as they were intended.

I do NOT believe the fiery hand of God reached down with a pen and cranked out the Bible.

But I think my reply above applies to both your corrected spelling or my initial interpretation.

# 37 Mr. Fusion said, on February 11th, 2009 at 8:53 am

#35, Moonie,

Tradition?

You mean, uuugh, things like burning heretics?

Or only allowing someone into heaven if you put some ~~water~~, (ahem) special water on their forehead and said a few words?

Or asking “god” to fix the things he created, like my nieces spina bifida?

Or condemning us to burn forever in hell if we don’t follow the traditional practice of the catholic church?

Or condemning a woman only because she is a woman?

Or deciding that a priest has dominion over a woman’s reproductive system?

Or building huge cathedrals to the god that doesn’t want us to have icons?

OK, them there those traditions. Yup, gotcha.

# 38 Gary, the dangerous infidel said, on February 11th, 2009 at 10:20 am

#36 moondawg wrote, “I do believe that the people who selected the included works were “inspired” or “guided” by God to select those works which represented the teachings of Jesus as they were intended.”

I just hope they had the good sense to burn candles and incense to set the right mood for supernatural inspiration, and perhaps even make sure the stars were in alignment, before embarking on their their holy mission of voting on which scriptures to include.

Unfortunately, whatever precautions they took to exclude the forces of darkness from their process, mistakes were apparently made. The mix of scriptures that comprise the Bible has changed since those earliest days. Since the process resulted in a product that may be flawed, it’s now up to Christians to cherry pick for themselves according to their own divine inspiration.

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