Purgatory and Catholic Beliefs about Life After Death

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CATHOLIC VIEWS ON HEAVEN AND HELL

Souls in Purgatory by Stephan Lochner_

The Catholic Church teaches that “heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness”. In heaven one experiences the beatific vision. The church holds that, by his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has ‘opened’ heaven to us. Renaissance Catholic described heaven as a more human place presided over by the Virgin Mary. Catholics accept the concept of purgatory (See Below) but most Christian denominations don’t Many Catholic believe when Christ comes to earth for the second time, all humans will be resurrected bodily and Christ will sit in judgment of them.

In Catholicism hell is the “state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed” which occurs by the refusal to repent of mortal sin before one’s death, since mortal sin deprives one of sanctifying grace. In the A.D. 5th century, Augustine upheld the idea of an eternal Hell, to which atheists and the truly wicked were condemned, but argued that those who committed lesser sins such as overeating and laughing too much would be saved by means of passing through a “purgatorial fire” before the Judgement Day.

In 1999, the an editorial in the influential Jesuit magazine La Civilta Catolica declared Hell “is not a ‘place’ but a ‘state,’ a person’s ‘state of being,’ in which a person suffers from the deprivation of God.” A few days later Pope John Paul II added, “rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitely separate themselves from God” and said that Bible “uses a symbolic language.”

Websites and Resources on Christianity BBC on Christianity bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity ; Candida Moss at the Daily Beast Daily Beast Christian Answers christiananswers.net ; Christian Classics Ethereal Library www.ccel.org ; Sacred Texts website sacred-texts.com ; Internet Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; Christian Denominations: Holy See w2.vatican.va ; Catholic Online catholic.org ; Catholic Encyclopedia newadvent.org ; World Council of Churches, main world body for mainline Protestant churches oikoumene.org ; Online Orthodox Catechism published by the Russian Orthodox Church orthodoxeurope.org

RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
“Purgatory: Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints” by Rev. Fr. F. X. Shouppe S.J. Amazon.com ;
“Purgatory: The Two Catholic Views of Purgatory Based on Catholic Teaching and Revelations of Saintly Souls” by Fr. Frederick William Faber Amazon.com ;
“Penguin Book of Hell” (illustrated) and edited by Scott Bruce (2018) Amazon.com ;
“The History of Hell” by Alice Turner(1993) Amazon.com ;
“Hell: A Guide” by Anthony DeStefano, Zach Hoffman, et al. Amazon.com ;
“Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife” by Bart D. Ehrman Amazon.com ;
“Heaven: A History” by Colleen McDaniel and Bernard Lang Amazon.com ;
“Heaven: A Comprehensive Guide to Everything the Bible Says About Our Eternal Home” by Randy Alcorn Amazon.com ;
“Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell: Meditations on the Four Last Things by St. Alphonsus Liguori, Darrell Wright Ph.L., et al. Amazon.com ;
“The Origin of Satan” by Elaine Pagels Amazon.com ;
“The Satan: How God’s Executioner Became the Enemy” by Ryan E. Stokes and John J. Collins Amazon.com ;
“Satan: His Personality, Power, and Overthrow” by E.M. Bounds Amazon.com ;
“The Second Coming of Christ” (Illustrated) by Clarence Larkin Amazon.com ;
“Revelations: Visions, Prophecy, and Politics in the Book of Revelation” by Elaine Pagels Amazon.com ;
“The Book of Revelation Made Clear: A Down-to-Earth Guide to Understanding the Most Mysterious Book of the Bible” by Tim LaHaye and Timothy Parker Amazon.com ;
“On the Resurrection of the Dead and on the Last Judgement” by Johann Gerhard Amazon.com ;

Purgatory

Catholics believe in Heaven and Hell, but also in Purgatory, a place for those who have died in a ‘state of grace’ (that is, they have committed ‘venial’ or forgivable sins) and may not go straight to Heaven. The concept developed so that majority of people could reach heaven. In the A.D. 5th century, Augustine upheld the idea of an eternal Hell “of material fire and torment to the bodies of the damned.”, to which atheists and the truly wicked were condemned, but argued that those who committed lesser sins such as overeating and laughing too much would be saved by means of passing through a “purgatorial fire before the Judgement Day. In the Middle Ages, the idea of purgatory was developed, Satan became a major figure, reports of encounters with demons increased, heretics and witches were burned, and vivid descriptions of hell were presented in the written form and in art.

Catholics believe that the soul is immortal. At death each man and woman is sent to Heaven or Hell based on their deeds during their life and obedience to the laws of God and the church. Before entering Heaven many souls must spend time in Purgatory to become pure. The concept of purgatory arose in part because of the confusion over what happened to people after they died and waited for the second coming of Christ, when they would be whisked off to heaven.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “All who die in God’s grace, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven (1030).”

Catholics believe that in purgatory they will be cleansed of their sin before moving on to heaven. Along with idea of purgatory developed the notion that “indulgences” could be bought with money to the Pope and this could earn one time off in purgatory. Indulgences were the trigger for the Reformation launched by Martin Luther. Some Protestants say that purgatory is s one of the most detestable of all Catholic teachings, saying it represents “a medieval invention nowhere to be found in the Bible” and calling it “a denial of the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice”, instead representing “a second-chance theology that is abominable.”

II Maccabees 12:39-46 — a part of the Bible accepted by Catholics and Orthodox Christians but rejected by Protestants and Jews — describes Judas Maccabeus and members of his Jewish military forces collecting the bodies of some fallen comrades who had been killed in battle. When they discovered these men were carrying “sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear”, Judas and his companions discerned they had died as a punishment for sin. Therefore, Judas and his men “turned to prayer beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out… He also took up a collection… and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably… Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” [Source: Tim Staples, catholic.com, January 18, 2014]

Purgatory didn’t become church doctrine until 1245, but the concept emerged in the sixth century in works like Pope Gregory I’s Dialogues.

Catholic Doctrine on Purgatory

“Purgatory” means “to make clean, to purify” in Latin. In accordance with Catholic teaching it is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God’s grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions.[Source: Catholic Encyclopedia]

The faith of the Church concerning purgatory is clearly expressed in the Decree of Union drawn up by the Council of Florence and in the decree of the Council of Trent which says: “”Whereas the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has from the Sacred Scriptures and the ancient tradition of the Fathers taught in Councils and very recently in this Ecumenical synod that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar; the Holy Synod enjoins on the Bishops that they diligently endeavor to have the sound doctrine of the Fathers in Councils regarding purgatory everywhere taught and preached, held and believed by the faithful”.

According to the Catholic church: That temporal punishment is due to sin, even after the sin itself has been pardoned by God, is clearly the teaching of Scripture. God indeed brought man out of his first disobedience and gave him power to govern all things (Wisdom 10:2), but still condemned him “to eat his bread in the sweat of his brow” until he returned unto dust. God forgave the incredulity of Moses and Aaron, but in punishment kept them from the “land of promise” (Numbers 20:12). The Lord took away the sin of David, but the life of the child was forfeited because David had made God’s enemies blaspheme His Holy Name (2 Samuel 12:13-14). In the New Testament as well as in the Old, almsgiving and fasting, and in general penitential acts are the real fruits of repentance (Matthew 3:8; Luke 17:3; 3:3).

The whole penitential system of the Church testifies that the voluntary assumption of penitential works has always been part of true repentance and the Council of Trent reminds the faithful that God does not always remit the whole punishment due to sin together with the guilt. God requires satisfaction, and will punish sin, and this doctrine involves as its necessary consequence a belief that the sinner failing to do penance in this life may be punished in another world, and so not be cast off eternally from God. [Source: Catholic Encyclopedia]

Development of Ideas About Confession, Venial Sins and Purgatory

Michael J. McClymond wrote in “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”:A more down-to-earth form of ethical reflection developed in connection with the sacrament of confession. Beginning in the ninth century, guidebooks for confessors (“Irish penitentials”) specified what penance was appropriate for a given transgression. [Source: Michael J. McClymond, “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices”, 2000s, Encyclopedia.com]

Over time an emerging tradition of moral theology took into account not only the acts themselves but also circumstances and intentions. Mortal sins concerned grave matters, occurred when the act was done deliberately and with full consent, and blocked a person from receiving grace. Venial sins were less serious, though they still required “satisfaction,” or outward actions, to show contrition and to compensate for the wrong committed.

Beginning in the Middle Ages, the church taught that purgatory provided a place where those who died without mortal sin but without having made satisfaction for their venial sins could make reparation through cleansing fire. In the period from the 1600s to the 1960s, Roman Catholic moral theology took the form of multivolume works of casuistry, or moral reasoning, that considered every conceivable sort of transgression. Since the Second Vatican Council, Catholic moral theology has moved away from this formal and legal style to a more personal and humanistic approach.

Types of Sins as They Relate to Purgatory

According to the Catholic Church: “All sins are not equal before God, nor dare anyone assert that the daily faults of human frailty will be punished with the same severity that is meted out to serious violation of God’s law. On the other hand whosoever comes into God’s presence must be perfectly pure for in the strictest sense His “eyes are too pure, to behold evil” (Habakkuk 1:13). For unrepented venial faults for the payment of temporal punishment due to sin at time of death, the Church has always taught the doctrine of purgatory. “So deep was this belief ingrained in our common humanity that it was accepted by the Jews, and in at least a shadowy way by the pagans, long before the coming of Christianity.[Source: Catholic Encyclopedia]

“The Catholic doctrine of purgatory supposes the fact that some die with smaller faults for which there was no true repentance, and also the fact that the temporal penalty due to sin is at times not wholly paid in this life. The proofs for the Catholic position, both in Scripture and in Tradition, are bound up also with the practice of praying for the dead. For why pray for the dead, if there be no belief in the power of prayer to afford solace to those who as yet are excluded from the sight of God?

So true is this position that prayers for the dead and the existence of a place of purgation are mentioned in conjunction in the oldest passages of the Fathers, who allege reasons for assisting departed souls. Those who have opposed the doctrine of purgatory have confessed that prayers for the dead would be an unanswerable argument if the modern doctrine of a “particular judgment” had been received in the early ages. But one has only to read the testimonies hereinafter alleged to feel sure that the Fathers speak, in the same breath, of oblations for the dead and a place of purgation; and one has only to consult the evidence found in the catacombs to feel equally sure that the Christian faith there expressed embraced clearly a belief in judgment immediately after death.

Moral Versus Venial Sins

Mortal Sins (also called cardinal sins) are the gravest of sins in Roman Catholic theology. They represent a deliberate turning away from God and destroying charity (love) in the heart of the sinner. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica: A mortal sin is defined as a grave action that is committed in full knowledge of its gravity and with the full consent of the sinner’s will. Such a sin cuts the sinner off from God’s sanctifying grace until it is repented, usually in confession with a priest. A person who dies unrepentant of the commission of mortal sin is believed to descend immediately into hell, where they suffer the separation from God that they chose in life.

The Roman Catholic Church does not provide an exhaustive list of mortal sins, but they generally includes breaking the Ten Commandments, the Seven deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth), fornication, homosexual acts, adultery, suicide, abortion, masturbation, rape, and divorce. In addition, some mortal sins are considered so severe that the church punishes them with excommunication. These include apostasy (deliberate renunciation of the faith) and the desecration of the elements of the Eucharist.

Venial Sins contrast with mortal sins. They generally involve a less serious actions and are often committed with a lack of awareness of wrongdoing. While a venial sin weakens the sinner’s union with God, it is not a deliberate turning away from him and so does not wholly block the inflow of sanctifying grace. The common understanding is that after death one goes directly to hell for mortal sins but for venial sins, one has to spend some time in purgatory to atone for these sins and then after some time can

On the long list of venial sin are things like 1) failure to pray on a daily basis; 2) having doubts against the Faith; 3) indifference and ingratitude to God; 4) having a lukewarmness relationship with God; 5) Putting things like television and sports before God; 6) Not trusting God; 7) Playing Dungeons and Dragons or similar games; 8) Being willfully distracted at Mass or in prayer; 9) Putting off confession needlessly; 10) Using the Lord’s Name lightly, in surprise or in anger; 10) Cursing thoughtlessly; 11) Using the names of Mary, a Saint, the Pope or other sacred persons irreverently; 12) Doing unnecessary work on Sunday; 13) Coming late to Mass or leaving early without a serious reason; 14) Fighting with siblings; 15) Disobedience to parents or authorities; 16) Speaking badly about one’s spouse; 17) Meddling in the affairs of married children; 18) Too lax with rules, boundaries and discipline; 19) Too strict with rules, boundaries and discipline; 20) Being ashamed of or embarrassed about parents

Debate, Different Denominations and Purgatory

According to the Catholic Church: In the 4th century, Epiphanius complained that Arius taught that prayers for the dead were of no avail. In the Middle Ages, the doctrine of purgatory was rejected by the Albigenses, Waldenses, and Hussites, who designated as heretics. St. Bernard states that the so-called “Apostolici” denied purgatory and the utility of prayers for the departed. [Source: Catholic Encyclopedia]

Much discussion arose over the position of the Greeks on the question of purgatory. It would seem that the great difference of opinion was not concerning the existence of purgatory but concerning the nature of purgatorial fire. St. Thomas attempted to prove the existence of purgatory in his dissertation against the errors of the Greeks, and the Council of Florence also thought necessary to affirm the belief of the Church on the subject.

The modern Orthodox Church denies purgatory. At the beginning of the Reformation there was some hesitation especially on Luther’s part (Leipzig Disputation) as to whether the doctrine should be retained, but as the breach widened, the denial of purgatory by the Reformers became universal, and Calvin was especially strong in condemnation of it. Purgatory is rejected by most Protestants in part because it is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible, . Nevertheless, views on what occurs immediately after death vary. Some believe in immediate presence with Christ, while others propose “soul sleep” or various interpretations of the transition to the afterlife. Modern Protestants, while they avoid the name purgatory, frequently teach the doctrine of “the middle state.” The Danish bishop Hans Lassen Martensen (1808–1884) writes: “As no soul leaves this present existence in a fully complete and prepared state, we must suppose that there is an intermediate state, a realm of progressive development, in which souls are prepared for the final judgment”.

Biblical Basis for Purgatory

The main justification for purgatory in the Old Testament put forth by Jews is in 2 Maccabees. According to the Catholic Church: Judas, the commander of the forces of Israel,“making a gathering . . . sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection (For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead). And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins. (2 Maccabees 12:43-46). At the time of the Maccabees the leaders of the people of God had no hesitation in asserting the efficacy of prayers offered for the dead, in order that those who had departed this life might find pardon for their sins and the hope of eternal resurrection. [Source: Catholic Encyclopedia]

“There are several passages in the New Testament that point to a process of purification after death. Thus, Jesus Christ declares (Matthew 12:32): “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in the world to come.” According to St. Isidore of Seville (Deord. creatur., c. xiv, n. 6) these words prove that in the next life “some sins will be forgiven and purged away by a certain purifying fire.” St. Augustine also argues “that some sinners are not forgiven either in this world or in the next would not be truly said unless there were other [sinners] who, though not forgiven in this world, are forgiven in the world to come” (City of God 21.24). The same interpretation is given by Gregory the Great, St. Bede, St. Bernard and other eminent theological writers.

“A further argument is supplied by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15: “For other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid; which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay stubble: Every man’s work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work, of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work burn, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire.” While this passage presents considerable difficulty, it is regarded by many of the Fathers and theologians as evidence for the existence of an intermediate state in which the dross of lighter transgressions will be burnt away, and the soul thus purified will be saved.

purgatory

Early Christian Theologians on Purgatory

According to the Catholic Church: “In Origen ( c. 185 – c. 253), the doctrine of purgatory is very clear. If a man departs this life with lighter faults, he is condemned to fire which burns away the lighter materials, and prepares the soul for the kingdom of God, where nothing defiled may enter. “For if on the foundation of Christ you have built not only gold and silver and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3); but also wood and hay and stubble, what do you expect when the soul shall be separated from the body? Would you enter into heaven with your wood and hay and stubble and thus defile the kingdom of God; or on account of these hindrances would you remain without and receive no reward for your gold and silver and precious stones? Neither is this just. It remains then that you be committed to the fire which will burn the light materials; for our God to those who can comprehend heavenly things is called a cleansing fire. But this fire consumes not the creature, but what the creature has himself built, wood and hay and stubble. It is manifest that the fire destroys the wood of our transgressions and then returns to us the reward of our great works.”

“The Apostolic practice of praying for the dead which passed into the liturgy of the Church, is as clear in the fourth century as it is in the twentieth. St. Cyril of Jerusalem describing the liturgy, writes: “Then we pray for the Holy Fathers and Bishops that are dead; and in short for all those who have departed this life in our communion; believing that the souls of those for whom prayers are offered receive very great relief, while this holy and tremendous victim lies upon the altar.”

St. Gregory of Nyssa (died 395) states that man’s weaknesses are purged in this life by prayer and wisdom, or are expiated in the next by a cleansing fire. “When he has quitted his body and the difference between virtue and vice is known he cannot approach God till the purging fire shall have cleansed the stains with which his soul was infested. That same fire in others will cancel the corruption of matter, and the propensity to evil.” About the same time the Apostolic Constitution gives us the formularies used in assisting the dead. “Let us pray for our brethren who sleep in Christ, that God who in his love for men has received the soul of the departed one, may forgive him every fault, and in mercy and clemency receive him into the bosom of Abraham, with those who in this life have pleased God”.

St. Augustine (354-430) describes two conditions of men; “some there are who have departed this life, not so bad as to be deemed unworthy of mercy, nor so good as to be entitled to immediate happiness” etc., and in the resurrection he says there will be some who “have gone through these pains, to which the spirits of the dead are liable” (City of God 21.24).

hell and purgatory

‘Limbo’: A Way to Deal with the Death of Unbaptized Babies

According to the BBC: “One of the biggest problems the Catholic Church faced over the years was the problem of children who died before they were baptised. Before the 13th Century, all unbaptised people, including new born babies who died, would go to Hell, according to the Catholic Church. This was because original sin had not been cleansed by baptism. This idea however was criticised by Peter Abelard, a French scholastic philosophiser, who said that babies who had no personal sin didn’t even deserve punishment. [Source: September 17, 2009 BBC |::|]

“It was Abelard who introduced the idea of ‘Limbo’. The word comes from the Latin ‘limbus’, meaning the edge. This would be a state of existence where unbaptised babies, and those unfortunate enough to have been born before Jesus, would not experience pain but neither would they experience the Beatific Vision of God. Abelard’s idea was accepted in the 13th century by Pope Innocent III, the most powerful Pope in Roman Catholic history. The idea of Limbo was defined in 1904 by Pope Pius X in his catechism. |::|

“Babies dead without baptism go to Limbo, where they do not enjoy God, but neither do they suffer, because, having Original Sin alone, they do not deserve Paradise, but neither do they merit Hell or Purgatory. — Pope Pius X However, unease remained over reconciling a Loving God with one who sent babies to Limbo and the church still faced much criticism. The Church, which has never claimed to definitely know who will go to Heaven apart from the Saints, or Hell, has said that the issue has long been one of speculation in the Church. This speculation has led to an oversimplification of the matter, and some people have regarded it as fact when it was never the case. |::|

“Catholics are only sure of the following two pieces of information in this matter: 1) that God is merciful; 2) that baptism is necessary for salvation Catholics feel sure that God won’t impose punishment on babies who are free from personal guilt, but they do admit they don’t know what their afterlife will hold. |::|

“In 1992, Pope John Paul II had Limbo removed from the catechism and both Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict XVI urged further study on the concept. In April 2007 Pope Benedict XVI approved the findings of a report by the International Theological Commission, a Vatican advisory body, which found grounds that the souls of unbaptised children would go to heaven, thus revising traditional teaching on Limbo. The report said there were “reasons to hope that infants who die without baptism may be saved and brought into eternal happiness” Parents were urged to continue to baptise their children, as the Vatican stressed that baptism is still considered necessary to achieve salvation; the report emphasised that “there are reasons to hope that God will save these infants precisely because it was not possible” to baptise them.”

purgatory with limbo for children in the lower left

Time in Purgatory and Purgatorial Fire

St. Augustine (City of God 21.13, 16) declares that the punishment of purgatory is temporary and will cease, at least with the Last Judgment. “But temporary punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by others after death, by others both now and then; but all of them before that last and strictest judgment.” [Source: Catholic Encyclopedia]

According to the Catholic Church: “It is clear from the Liturgies and the Fathers above cited that the souls for whose peace sacrifice was offered were shut out for the time being from the sight of God. They were “not so good as to be entitled to eternal happiness”. Still, for them “death is the termination not of nature but of sin” (Ambrose, “De obitu Theodos.”); and this inability to sin makes them secure of final happiness. This is the Catholic position proclaimed by Leo X in the Bull “Exurge Domine” which condemned the errors of Luther.

“Are the souls detained in purgatory conscious that their happiness is but deferred for a time, or may they still be in doubt concerning their ultimate salvation? The ancient Liturgies and the inscriptions of the catacombs speak of a “sleep of peace”, which would be impossible if there was any doubt of ultimate salvation. Some of the Doctors (Great Theologians) of the Middle Ages thought uncertainty of salvation one of the severe punishments of purgatory; but this opinion finds no general credit among the theologians of the medieval period, nor is it possible in the light of the belief in the particular judgment. St. Bonaventure gives as the reason for this elimination of fear and of uncertainty the intimate conviction that they can no longer sin: “Fear is cast out because of the strengthening of the will by which the soul knows it can no longer sin”, and St. Thomas: “unless they knew that they are to be delivered, they would not ask for prayers”.

There was a long debate about purgatorial fire. At the Council of Florence, Bessarion argued against the existence of real purgatorial fire, and the Greeks were assured that the Roman Church had never issued any dogmatic decree on this subject. In the West the belief in the existence of real fire is common. Augustine speaks of the pain which purgatorial fire causes as more severe than anything a man can suffer in this life.” Gregory the Great speaks of those who after this life “will expiate their faults by purgatorial flames,” and he adds “that the pain be more intolerable than any one can suffer in this life”.Following in the footsteps of Gregory, St. Thomas teaches that besides the separation of the soul from the sight of God, there is the other punishment from fire. ” St. Bonaventure not only agrees with St. Thomas but adds that this punishment by fire is more severe than any punishment which comes to men in this life.

Indulgences

Indulgences are the omission of penalties for sin or remission of temporal punishment—suffering in either this life or the next in order to purify a soul of sins that have already been forgiven in confession. Catholics could gain indulgence by making pilgrimages to Rome, the Holy Land or certain churches in their home countries or doing good deeds such as visiting the ill, the imprisoned or donating to charities.

Along with idea of purgatory developed the notion that “indulgences” could be bought with money to the Pope and this could earn one time off in purgatory. In the Renaissance, indulgences were mass produced on some of the first printing presses under the orders of popes who used the money to finance their ambitious projects. In Germany in Luther’s time indulges were sold at auctions to the highest bidder.

In 1998, Pope John Paul II reaffirmed the use of indulgences, which had been out of favor since Martin Luther condemned them in the 16th century. Commenting on indulgences in the modern world, one Vatican archbishop commented, “It’s not easy for some to give up smoking for a day. It might be easier to visit a prison inmate.”

Heaven by Heronimus Bosch

Catholic Funerals

Catholic Church favors the burial of the dead but stopped opposing cremation in 1963. Cremation has generally been frowned upon because of its close association with hell. During a Catholic funeral, the body of the deceased is sprinkled with holy water as a sign of purification and thurified (bathed in incense smoke) as a sign of respect because, according to St. Paul, our bodies are members of the Christ and temples of the Holy Spirit.” They are called upon to enter transfigured, into the heavenly liturgy.”

Last Rites are important to Catholics. The last rites are when a priest is summoned to the bedside of a dying person so the dying person can confess his or her sins. The priest usually says prayers and sometimes lays hands or anoints the dying person. The custom of last rites arose in the Middle Ages to address the concerns of people, who worried about dying before they confessed their sins and would thus be denied of a place or heaven, or would have stay longer in purgatory.

See Separate Article: CHRISTIAN FUNERALS africame.factsanddetails.com

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Internet Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu ; “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File); “ Encyclopedia of the World’s Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); King James Version of the Bible, gutenberg.org; New International Version (NIV) of The Bible, biblegateway.com; Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ccel.org , Frontline, PBS, Wikipedia, BBC, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Live Science, Encyclopedia.com, Archaeology magazine, Reuters, Associated Press, Business Insider, AFP, Library of Congress, Lonely Planet Guides, Compton’s Encyclopedia and various books and other publications.

Last updated March 2024

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PURGATORY