“Pope Could Empty Purgatory”
Henry Charles Lea says:FAFA 169.1
“An enthusiastic Franciscan taught at Tournay, in 1482, that the pope at will could empty purgatory... The same year ... the church of Saintes, having procured a bull of indulgence from Sixtus IV, announced publicly that, no matter how long a period of punishment had been assigned by divine justice to a soul, it would fly from purgatory to heaven as soon as three sols were paid in its behalf to be expended in repairing the church.... The doctrine ... was pronounced to be unquestionable Catholic truth by the Dominican Silvestro Mozzolino, in his refutation of Luther’s Theses, dedicated to Leo X. (F. Silvest. Prieriatis Dialogus, No. 27) As Silvestro was made general of his order and master of the sacred palace, it is evident that no exceptions to his teaching were taken at Rome. Those who doubt that the abuses of the system were the proximate cause of the Reformation can consult Van Espen, Jur. Eccles. Universi P. II., tit. 7, cap. 3, No. 9-12.” — “History of the Inquisition in the Middle Ages,” Vol. I, p. 43, note.
Some Roman Catholic writers claim that the “tares charged in those “Tax Tables” were simply registration fees for the absolutions or pardons granted. If this were true, why are they called “tares,” and why should the registration fee for one man be fifty times as much as for another that had committed the same sin? Or why should registration fees vary so greatly for the different sins?FAFA 169.2
William Coxe, F. R. S., F. A. S., speaking of the time of Luther, says:FAFA 169.3
“The sale of indulgences gave rise to the schism of a great part of Europe from the church of Rome.
“Indulgences, in the early ages, were merely a diminution of ecclesiastical penances, at the recommendation of confessors or persons of peculiar sanctity. This license soon degenerated into an abuse, and being made by the popes a pretext for obtaining money, was held forth as an exemption from the pains of purgatory, and afterwards as a plenary pardon for the commission of all sins whatsoever; and this unchristian doctrine was justified on the principle no less absurd than impious and immoral.FAFA 169.4
“With a view to replenish the exhausted treasury of the church, Leo X had recourse to the sale of indulgences, an expedient which had been first invented by Urban II, and continued by his successors; Julius II had bestowed indulgences on all who contributed towards building, the church of St. Peter, at Rome, and Leo founded his grant on the came pretence. But ... this scandalous traffic had been warmly opposed in Germany.... These indulgences were held forth as pardons for the most enormous crimes; they were publicly put up for sale, and even forced upon the people, and Tetzel and his coadjutors indulged themselves in drunkenness, and every other species of licentiousness, in which they squandered their share of the profits, and not unfrequently produced indulgences as stakes at the gaming table.” — “History of the House of Austria,” Vol. I, pp. 384-386.FAFA 170.1
Professor Coxe continues in a footnote:FAFA 170.2
“We subjoin the form of absolution used by Tetzel:FAFA 170.3
“‘May our Lord Jesus Christ have mercy upon thee, and absolve thee by the merits of his most holy passion. And I, by his authority, by that of his blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and of the most holy pope, granted and committed to me in these parts, do absolve thee, first, from all ecclesiastical censures, in whatever manner they have been incurred; and then from all thy sins, transgressions, and excesses, how enormous so ever they may be, even from such as are reserved for the cognizance of the Holy See; and as far as the keys of the holy church extend, I remit to thee all punishment which thou deservest in purgatory on their account; and I restore thee to the holy sacraments of the church, to the unity of the faithful, and to that innocence and purity which thou possessest in baptism; so that when thou diest, the gates of punishment shall be shut, and the gates of the paradise of delight shall be opened: and if thou shalt not die at present, this grace shall remain in full force when thou art at the point of death. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost’ - Seckend. Comment Lib. I, p. 14.” -Id., p. 385.FAFA 170.4
The author has several photographic reproductions of these “Indulgences.” The “Congregation of the Propaganda” at Rome, 1883, published a book called “Il Tesoro dele Sacre Indulgence,” which attempts to justify the sale of indulgences by monks at the time of Martin Luther. (Chap. III)FAFA 171.1
Dr. William Robertson gives the same facts in the “History of the Reign of the Emperor Charles the Fifth,” Vol. 1, pp. 460-463, as have been quoted from Dr. Coxe. In a footnote Dr. Robertson adds the following of Tetzel’s arguments:FAFA 171.2
“‘The soul confined in purgatory, for whose redemption indulgences are purchased, as soon as the money tinkles in the chest, instantly escape from that place of torment and ascend into heaven.... For twelve pence you may redeem the soul of your father out of purgatory; and are you so ungrateful that you mill not rescue your parent from torment?’” — Id., p. 462.FAFA 171.3