Indulgences: Shortcut to Salvation?"Pope offers shortcut (1) In Windows, a shortcut is an icon that points to a program or data file. Shortcuts can be placed on the desktop or stored in other folders, and double clicking a shortcut is the same as double clicking the original file. to salvation" said a headline in the National Post, commenting on the papal bull Noun 1. papal bull - a formal proclamation issued by the pope (usually written in antiquated characters and sealed with a leaden bulla) bull decree, fiat, edict, rescript, order - a legally binding command or decision entered on the court record (as if ("bulla bulla /bul·la/ (bul´ah) pl. bul´lae [L.] 1. a blister; a circumscribed, fluid-containing, elevated lesion of the skin, usually more than 5 mm in diameter. 2. a rounded, projecting anatomical structure. " is Latin for seal) proclaiming the Great Jubilee The Great Jubilee in 2000 was a major event in the Roman Catholic Church, held from December 24, 1999 to January 6, 2001. Like other previous Jubilee years, it was a celebration of the mercy of God and forgiveness of sins. of the year 2000. "Catholics get a break", said the heading in the Globe and Mail above similar comments. Both national papers borrowed their stories from non-Canadian sources, the Post from the New York Times, the New York Times, The Morning daily newspaper, long the U.S. newspaper of record. From its establishment in 1851 it has aimed to avoid sensationalism and to appeal to cultured, intellectual readers. Globe from Reuters news agency. Typically, both sources had the liberal touch: a certain amusement that such things as "indulgences" still existed; a reminder that in the sixteenth century Martin Luther had made them infamous, a service for which he was excommunicated; and that, yet today, the Pope seemed to deem them important. The Globe-Reuters' approach of contriving the news around refraining from smoking and drinking for a day appeared the more insouciant in·sou·ci·ant adj. Marked by blithe unconcern; nonchalant. [French : in-, not (from Old French; see in-1) + souciant, present participle of soucier, , with the Post-N.Y. Times providing a longer version allowing for more explanation. Yet, perhaps inadvertently, both versions drew attention to the important belief in purgatory, and to the need for forgiveness of sin, two ideas which certainly can use the publicity. So is an indulgence a shortcut to salvation? For the answer, see our article "Indulgences and the Year of Jubilee", page 27. A week after its New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times article, the National Post published a much more reasonable account, correcting some of the misapprehensions of the original story. Still, the original articles missed a few points. For a plenary indulgence one must be free from attachment to sin, even venial sin. Both of them say that the Church sold indulgences in the Middle Ages. This is not correct. It is true that contributing to the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica was indulgenced (the basilica had just burned down) and that one priest, John Tetzel, a preacher of this indulgence, promised an easy path to salvation, but this was not approved by the Church. Indeed, these two publications are doing exactly what Tetzel did, leaving out the absolute necessity of purity of heart. |
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