Catholic Tradition Devalues the Shed Blood of Jesus - Mike Gendron
Many Roman Catholic traditions nullify the Word of God and deny the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement. The Vatican defines an indulgence as “the taking of the temporal punishment due to sin.” Catholics can obtain these indulgences by their acts. The amount of temporal punishment that is taken away is determined by the value of the act.
This tradition developed in the middle ages when Pope Urban II promised a plenary indulgence to anyone who would participate in the Crusades. At first, only the sins of the living could be taken away, but in 1477 Pope Sixtus IV declared they could be applied to the souls in purgatory as well. Revenues from the sale of indulgences helped finance the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was the public selling of them that outraged Martin Luther and sparked the Reformation in 1517.
As the use of indulgences spread, there were many abuses including the collection of unlawful profits which blasphemously took away the good name of indulgences. As a result, Vatican Council II had to set up twenty new rules for granting indulgences. An example is Rule #17, “The faithful who use with devotion an object of piety (crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular, or medal) after it has been duly blessed by any priest, can gain a partial indulgence. But, if this object of piety is blessed by the Pope or any bishop, the faithful who use it with devotion can also gain a plenary indulgence on the feast of the Apostle Peter and Paul, provided they make confession of faith using any approved formula.”
Dear Catholic, who would believe kissing a scapula can accomplish what Christ achieved by dying on Calvary’s cross?
This tradition developed in the middle ages when Pope Urban II promised a plenary indulgence to anyone who would participate in the Crusades. At first, only the sins of the living could be taken away, but in 1477 Pope Sixtus IV declared they could be applied to the souls in purgatory as well. Revenues from the sale of indulgences helped finance the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was the public selling of them that outraged Martin Luther and sparked the Reformation in 1517.
As the use of indulgences spread, there were many abuses including the collection of unlawful profits which blasphemously took away the good name of indulgences. As a result, Vatican Council II had to set up twenty new rules for granting indulgences. An example is Rule #17, “The faithful who use with devotion an object of piety (crucifix, cross, rosary, scapular, or medal) after it has been duly blessed by any priest, can gain a partial indulgence. But, if this object of piety is blessed by the Pope or any bishop, the faithful who use it with devotion can also gain a plenary indulgence on the feast of the Apostle Peter and Paul, provided they make confession of faith using any approved formula.”
Dear Catholic, who would believe kissing a scapula can accomplish what Christ achieved by dying on Calvary’s cross?