“Sale Of Indulgences” Aroused Protest

The subject of indulgences is of great importance at this time, for the strenuous protest of Romanists against any discussion of this subject has changed both our schoolbooks and our encyclopedias. We therefore invite the reader to a careful investigation of this subject. The grossest doctrines that ever disgraced the church of Rome, usually began as apparently innocent injunctions, which developed for centuries into the final monstrosity. This was the case with “indulgence.” It began simply as a release from some ecclesiastical punishment.FAFA 162.1

Catholic authorities today teach that there are two kinds of punishments for sin, one eternal and the other temporal. Dr. M. J. Scott, S. J., says:FAFA 162.2

“The forgiveness of sin is ... the remission of the eternal chastisement....

“After the guilt and eternal punishment have been remitted there remains the temporal chastisement ... which must be suffered either here or ... hereafter ... by the suffering of Purgatory.” — “Things Catholics Are Asked About,” p. 145. New York: P. J. Kenedy and Sons. 1927.FAFA 162.3

The debt in purgatory may be settled in this life by penances, masses, or by indulgences. On the cost of having masses celebrated see “Fifty Years in the Church of Rome” by Charles Chiniquy, chap. 25. Catholic authors admonish a Catholic to settle his account with the church in this life, for when he dies “his family might have hundreds of Masses offered up for his soul,” before it affects him in purgatory.—“Things Catholics Are Asked About,” p. 147. As some Catholics may be unwilling to pay such sums for their deceased relatives, Dr. J. T. Roche warns them:FAFA 162.4

“The last will and testament of a Catholic in which there is no provision made for Masses gives evidence of an oversight which is truly deplorable. Children and heirs-at-law are the same the world over. In many instances they are dissatisfied with the bequests made to them individually. Their disappointment precludes the possibility of having Masses said for the dead testator. Some of them too are so selfish and grasping that they cannot think of parting with even a small portion of their inheritance to comply with what is clearly a duty.” — ” Masses for the Dead,” pp. 23, 24. (This booklet bears the sanction of the Catholic Church and its censor).FAFA 163.1