An actual conversation in my house.

[demiurgent]

Eric: So... the Catholic Church is re-emphasizing--

Weds: Plenary indulgences. Yes. I know.

Eric: But... wait. Plenary indulgences reduce your time in Purgatory. They have no impact on Hell.

Weds: And?

Eric: Didn't they abolish the very concept of Purgatory like a year ago?

Weds: It's back. In Pog form.

Comments

[demiurgent.livejournal.com]

But it's an understandable conflation -- for most lay people, indulgences refer back to the medieval practice of selling indulgences for gold. While the modern system's an attempt to bring... well, a modern sense of bookkeeping to the process of reducing the burden of venal sin, essentially, and doesn't actually involve indulgence for cash, that's what a lot of people will believe when they first hear the term.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

No kidding.

My first thought on reading your post (since I can't be bothered to register with the NYTimes) was: First anti-Semitism, then placing gay-bashing over anti-torture, and now selling indulgences? Is Ratzinger actually TRYING to destroy the Catholic Church?

[cmdr-zoom.livejournal.com]

No, just trying to turn back time to when it was The Only Game In Town.