Author: Brian Francisco
Of the several examples in last week’s issue of Occidental students exhibiting the self-righteous indignation and ironic close-mindedness that is often found at this “open” and “accepting” school, I found one especially troubling. Aidan Lewis’s column on the Roman Catholic Church’s doctrine on purgatory and indulgences was poorly researched and filled with half-truths and a frank anti-Catholic sentiment that I found appalling.
Indulgences are primarily about one’s relationship with God. They provide a structure through which a repentant sinner may reflect on his/her sins and God’s role in their lives through prayer, meditation, and devotion, for instance by participating in the Stations of the Cross. This may further involve charitable service or donations to one’s parish or a Catholic-affiliated charity. This is not the sixteenth century incarnation of the practice.
Indulgences are not being “sold” as Mr. Lewis correctly points out, but neither are they simply a tool to enrich the Church as he implies. To some degree, this can be compared to the Third Pillar of Islam, “Zakat,” or Charity/Alms giving. Observant Muslims are required to donate a certain portion of their income (with great flexibility in determining that portion based upon one’s financial situation) to charities that serve the poor within the Islamic community. I don’t see Mr. Lewis condemning this practice, though I suppose, if he did, the heroic crusaders of political correctness in the Oxy community would not stand for such intolerance.
Through the practice of indulgences, the Church is not claiming to know the number of years of punishment designated for any given person. That is God’s prerogative. According to the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI, “A partial indulgence will henceforth be designated only with the words ‘partial indulgence’ without any determination of days or years,” recognizing the Church cannot determine this.
Mr. Lewis further fundamentally misunderstands the role of the Church in Christian life according to Catholic theology. I don’t want to go too much into the dogma because it would take books to explain, not to mention I am not exceptionally well versed in arcane theological matters. Neither is Mr. Lewis, but I digress.
As for the “revival” of the practice of indulgences, “Why is forgiveness available at certain times but not at others?” Mr. Lewis asks, again misunderstanding basic Catholic tenets. First of all, indulgences were never discontinued; they have just achieved some prominence in the news lately because some dioceses are expanding the practice. More importantly, forgiveness is achieved through the sacrament of reconciliation and not through indulgences. Indulgences are about coming closer to God and purifying the soul, implicitly reducing the time spent in purgatory.
This may not have an explicit and precise biblical precedent, but then again, few Christian practices do. Those that are tied to the Bible are interpreted in different ways by different denominations. This is based on biblical interpretation and theology regarding the Church’s relationship with humanity. I know it sounds strange, but don’t all religions have idiosyncratic traditions that seem bizarre to non-practitioners? Your religion, Mr. Lewis, whatever that may be, has its own practices that I may not agree with. But these practices do not bother me because they do not concern me; they do not affect me one way or the other. What gives you the right to condemn my religion’s practices?
I myself have not encountered the doctrine of indulgences in the course of my practice as a Roman Catholic and have no immediate plans to participate. For me, Catholicism and its ancient rituals represent a means through which I can improve my relationship with God and Christ. We don’t rely on a charismatic pastor and I have never heard a priest condemn anyone from the altar. The homilies at a Catholic Mass are always about charity towards others, acceptance, tolerance, and forming a social conscience. Indulgences are, frankly, a minor and mostly inconsequential aspect of Roman Catholic dogma. For most Catholics, this doctrine plays little or no role in spiritual life and development. So what is Mr. Lewis’s point? It seems indulgences are simply a vehicle through which he can express his anti-Catholic prejudice and “frustration.”
What disturbed me most about this article is Mr. Lewis’s obviously anti-Catholic bias. I do not understand why Mr. Lewis wrote an article to condemn an obscure Catholic practice. Why not write about Catholic social teaching, the Church’s “best kept secret,” according to Father Thomas Massero, S.J., a theologian and social justice activist? Why not write about the Church standing up to George W. Bush’s ill-advised and immoral war with Iraq and the former president’s refusal to meet the papal envoy? Why not the Church’s progressive stance on many social and environmental issues, as well as its daily challenge to its members to live up to Christ’s call to help the “least among us”?
I find the monetary aspect of indulgences to be far more Christian and far less crass than Protestant televangelists soliciting money from viewers on their TV shows. Can evangelicals with “McChurch” congregations of 10,000 plus claim to be “community” of Christ? These churches are designed to make money with their God Rock performances and telegenic pastors condemning people for not being like everyone else, commanding the faithful to go buy his books, t-shirts, wristbands, CDs, and other crap so he can live lavishly off of people’s desire to find meaning in their lives.
They buy free trade, commercialized goods in order to fund opposition to gay marriage; Catholics buy fair trade so that maybe, someday people everywhere will have a decent shot at life (note: many Catholics did support Prop. 8 but there was no concerted effort on the part of the Church to raise money or support for it. I’ve never heard a priest discuss gay marriage one way or the other and many-perhaps most-Catholics I know opposed Prop.8).
If you find indulgences and the Roman Catholic Church so unconscionable, Mr. Lewis, I suggest you not become a Catholic. And if you are not Catholic, why do you care? Why your “frustration” at Catholic practices? Are you so insecure that you feel the Catholic Church threatens your religious beliefs? I thought the wars of the Reformation and the Inquisition had ended centuries ago. If you find this so offensive, I suggest you look at the far more egregious instances of salvation being commercialized and “sold” by some (let me stress: not all) Protestant and non-denominational Christians. In the meantime, please refrain from discussing things that you clearly do not understand nor are affected by.
Brian Francisco is a senior Politics major. He can be reached at bfrancisco@oxy.edu.
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