I Know I'm Not Suppose To Talk Bad About A Priest...
But this dumb-ass doesn't even know the basicsI ran across a rather nasty little article, undoubtedly written by an equally nasty little person. Here's some of the article from
The Palm Beach Post; (emphasis and comments mine)
CATHOLIC FAITHFUL HURRY TO GET FULL PARDON FOR SINS
By LONA O'CONNOR Palm Beach Post Religion Writer
To a devout Catholic, a plenary indulgence is the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card, bypassing the long and unpleasant wait in Purgatory and opening wide St. Peter's gates. In December, in a rare move, Pope Benedict XIV announced a plenary indulgence for those who visit the shrine at Lourdes, France, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. (by the way, this particular indulgence was announced by Pope Benedict XVI, not Pope Benedict XIV. She's only off by 250 years and a whole buncha Popes.)
Among the fine print of the papal announcement is a clause that also allows the faithful who cannot travel to France to get the indulgence -- but only until Monday, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
The Rev. Francis Reardon, pastor of Lourdes parish, is deliberately keeping the service low key rather than focusing on the indulgence, which has been a touchy subject in religious history. "I'm not opposed to it, but I'm not advertising it as such," Reardon said. "I don't mean to be irreverent, but that's what got Martin Luther going."
Indulgences, which still exist in the Roman Catholic Church, remove some of the suffering imposed on sinners. A plenary indulgence is a full pardon for all sins.OK, it's obvious that this idiot O'Connor woman has no idea of what indulgences really are. Nowhere in Catholic Teaching does it state that indulgences give
pardon for sins. But this bonehead, Father Reardon, is such a ecclesiastical simpleton that he doesn't even know what indulgences are. And to make matters worse, he automatically equates them to something evil and wrong. As my dear old, departed dad use to say; "you gotta be shittin' me." *Followed by the requisite slowly shaking of head in disgust.*
Alrighty, let's get down to the basics... of the many reasons that the theological thug, martin "sin boldly" luther, revolted against Christ's Church, many present day always scream that the "selling of indulgences" was the main reason. Actually, the selling of indulgences was waaaaaay down the list.
Number 35 to be precise.
And in all historical accuracy, it wasn't the entire Church that was doing this... just a corrupt handful. And I do believe a lil' sumpthin' called The Catholic Counter-Reformation brought that nonsense to an end, posthaste. You know, in light of The Catholic Counter-Reformation, that kinda nullifies the "selling indulgences" argument, doesn't it? Sure does. And luther should have recanted his revolt at that time, but he didn't. Thus proving that he was nothing more than a garden-variety heretic.
Next, what exactly is an indulgence?
Here is a simple, yet excellent explanation of what exactly indulgences are, and more importantly... aren't.
Long story short, when we're forgiven of sins in the Sacrament of Penance, we very well may be
forgiven of those sins, but we won't be
fully cleansed of them until our penance is completed. And as we all know, penance could be as little as a handful of heartfelt prayers, or something that could take months or even years to complete. Possibly even an entire lifetime, such as turning ourselves over to the police and facing the consequences for a crime committed, etc.
Anyhow, if we die with sins on our souls
already forgiven, but
not yet cleansed - that's where Purgatory comes into play. It's the final cleansing... a burning away... a purging. By no stretch of the imagination is it "a second chance" as many (including Catholics) believe.
Look at it this way, if I were to cheat on my wife, my penance would be a sight more than just a handful of Our Fathers and Hail Marys. It's a penance that would take years to complete. Not only would I have to spend the rest of my life never cheating on her again, I'd also have to spend the rest of my life making it up to her and to God as well. Anyhow, I've just been forgiven of that sin, but as I'm driving home, I get killed in a car crash. In the words of Sonny Corleone, badda beep, badda boop, badda bang... Purgatory. I've been forgiven, but still have the stain of sin on my soul. That whole
Faith and Works stuff.
Partial Indulgences remove a portion of the penance I must perform, usually by reciting heartfelt prayers or performing Acts of Charity, etc. Plenary (full) Indulgences cleans our souls of all required penance up to that point in time. Obviously, something major is required for a Plenary Indulgence. Such as taking part in any public or private devotion so deemed by The Holy Father.
So for those of you who weren't quite sure of what indulgences are, you're now smarter than a certain newspaper reporter, and a priest down Florida way.