Ladies and Gentlemen...

[acroyear]

Welcome back to the 17th Century:

Indulgences Return, and Heaven Moves a Step Closer for Catholics - NYTimes.com:

The announcement in church bulletins and on Web sites has been greeted with enthusiasm by some and wariness by others. But mainly, it has gone over the heads of a vast generation of Roman Catholics who have no idea what it means: “Bishop Announces Plenary Indulgences.”

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.

"sad preacher nailed upon the colored door of time..."

But for Catholic leaders, most prominently the pope, the focus in recent years has been less on what Catholics have in common with other religious groups than on what sets them apart — including the half-forgotten mystery of the indulgence.

“It faded away with a lot of things in the church,” said Bishop DiMarzio of Brooklyn. “But it was never given up. It was always there. We just want to people to return to the ideas they used to know.”

Did they ever stop to think that maybe the idea faded away because it was a stupid idea in the first place?

Pharyngula: Another crazy Catholic doctrine:

Oh, well, at least they aren't selling get-out-of-purgatory-free cards just yet. When that happens, we'll have to go through another 30 Years War, and once was enough.

Comments

Get out of Purgatory Cards Exist

[blueeowyn.livejournal.com]

http://www.goohf.com/ - fortunately it isn't a church selling them.

Re: Get out of Purgatory Cards Exist

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

on a more serious note, Alan the Printmaker at faire does have in his collection of things you can buy a replica of the real Indulgence document from around that time.

It used to be very hard to get one, in that for the recipient they had to suffer through some kind of penance (usually on a pilgrimage) where though the document was free, the route was packed with salesman selling many of the same kinds of religious trinkets like holy mirrors and rosary that surround the Vatican in shops and stands even to this day.

In addition, they were rare to grant because they were all written out by hand.

Well, the printing press changed all that, of course, and turned them into something cheap to make, and something to make money from.

Martin Luther wasn't too thrilled with this...

Which is why I see it as a concern for going backwards. they aren't selling them now, but it didn't take much to do it 500 years ago.