Kicking it Old School
Laurel Noble
Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: News
Getting into heaven just got a little harder. With the reinstatement of indulgences last week, the Catholic Church, will now allow you to reduce your time spent in purgatory.
Indulgences began in the early Church with the idea that "God's removal of the guilt of sin from a human life did not automatically cause the consequences of that sin to disappear. These consequences had to be obliterated gradually and with considerable effort, through penitential works, while the Church stood by the penitent in solidarity and prayer," as stated in the Sacramental Theology by Herbert Vorgrimler.
This was a hot topic during the crusades when the Church allowed those to receive penance if they donated to the cause. Martin Luther later denounced the selling of them in 1567 during the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. In today's times indulgences translate into donations to a charitable cause and committing other acts of kindness.
One can work for their indulgence or someone who has already passed and in purgatory. But "there is a limit of one plenary indulgence per sinner per day," says the New York Times article by Paul Vitello.
Since the announcement of the return of indulgences, the controversy has caught the attention of many. Most view the change as a push towards a more conservative outlook for the Catholics.
"Catholic leaders hope the resurrection of indulgences…will encourage a return to the confessional. The salutary benefit may be to buttress waning clerical authority, since indulgence practice rewards deference to clerical authority with the attractive albeit unverifiable promise of decreased punishment in the afterlife," said Cynthia A Jurrison of Chicago in a Letter to the Editor of the New York Times on Feb. 11, 2009.
The discussion continues on campus with students. "Indulgences have a long and complicated history occasionally overshadowed by controversy. When appropriately applied, I think they are beneficial," said Joseph H. Smith, sophomore.
Indulgences began in the early Church with the idea that "God's removal of the guilt of sin from a human life did not automatically cause the consequences of that sin to disappear. These consequences had to be obliterated gradually and with considerable effort, through penitential works, while the Church stood by the penitent in solidarity and prayer," as stated in the Sacramental Theology by Herbert Vorgrimler.
This was a hot topic during the crusades when the Church allowed those to receive penance if they donated to the cause. Martin Luther later denounced the selling of them in 1567 during the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. In today's times indulgences translate into donations to a charitable cause and committing other acts of kindness.
One can work for their indulgence or someone who has already passed and in purgatory. But "there is a limit of one plenary indulgence per sinner per day," says the New York Times article by Paul Vitello.
Since the announcement of the return of indulgences, the controversy has caught the attention of many. Most view the change as a push towards a more conservative outlook for the Catholics.
"Catholic leaders hope the resurrection of indulgences…will encourage a return to the confessional. The salutary benefit may be to buttress waning clerical authority, since indulgence practice rewards deference to clerical authority with the attractive albeit unverifiable promise of decreased punishment in the afterlife," said Cynthia A Jurrison of Chicago in a Letter to the Editor of the New York Times on Feb. 11, 2009.
The discussion continues on campus with students. "Indulgences have a long and complicated history occasionally overshadowed by controversy. When appropriately applied, I think they are beneficial," said Joseph H. Smith, sophomore.