Vatican offers 'time off purgatory' to followers of Pope Francis tweets

[ZombieHorde]

Papal court handling pardons for sins says contrite Catholics may win 'indulgences' by following World Youth Day on Twitter

Tom Kington in Rome
The Guardian, Tuesday 16 July 2013 13.50 EDT

...snip

Mindful of the faithful who cannot afford to fly to Brazil, the Vatican's sacred apostolic penitentiary, a court which handles the forgiveness of sins, has also extended the privilege to those following the "rites and pious exercises" of the event on television, radio and through social media.

"That includes following Twitter," said a source at the penitentiary, referring to Pope Francis' Twitter account, which has gathered seven million followers. "But you must be following the events live. It is not as if you can get an indulgence by chatting on the internet."

In its decree, the penitentiary said that getting an indulgence would hinge on the beneficiary having previously confessed and being "truly penitent and contrite".

Praying while following events in Rio online would need to be carried out with "requisite devotion", it suggested.

snip...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/16/vatican-indulgences-pope-francis-tweets

[hrmjustin]

1. I thought they got rid of time off in purgatory.

When I was a kid in RC school they did not push purgatory too much.

[ZombieHorde]

2. I guess not.

I was raised Roman Catholic, but I have not been to mass in many years, so I am not exactly up to date on the church's current teachings.

[hrmjustin]

3. Well it is what it is. I don't believe in Purgatory or hell, just heaven.

[Fearless]

4. But can they save me hundreds of dollars on auto insurance?

[redwitch]

5. My MIL used to have a saying about Purgatory.

Whenever someone had to do something they didn't want to do she claimed they would spend less time in Purgatory. I often think of that when I am doing something I loathe.

Limbo was done away with by the RC church, not Purgatory.

[cbayer]

17. Don't we often get through things we don't want to do by either

seeing it as some kind of penance for something we have done wrong or because we know we are going to reward ourselves when it is over (indulgence?).

Even many non-religious people have a sense of "karma", in my experience.

[redwitch]

18. True.

penance/indulgence and things we don't want to do =life. With occasional goodies thrown in.

[cbayer]

20. I'm finding it's all a balance in the end.

I can't be happy unless I also experience sadness. My deep love is often challenged by equally deep feelings of dislike.

It's ok by me.

[redwitch]

23. Life is bittersweet.

Something I really understood after losing my dad. If I didn't love so much, I wouldn't grieve so hard. I'll take love and deal with the aftermath any old day.

[cbayer]

25. So sorry about your dad, redwitch.

You are so right about love and grieving. There are people that I love so much that I have a touch of dread when I hear the phone ring at times (that stems from an earlier experience).

[longship]

6. Selling indulgences again? Huh?

PZ Myers blogged about this today.

What? Indulgences are still a thing?

Typical PZ goodness. Highly recommended.

[MADem]

7. In Europe, back in the day, you could "give up" something for Lent, and then pay the

church to be able to indulge in it during Lent. Also, you could eat meat on Friday...for a PRICE!!!!!!

[pgr]

8. But, of course,

We all know the church is just another form of totalitarian government. You must follow our dogma if you want eternal salvation unless, of course, you can afford to pay us to look the other way.

[rug]

9. There is no time in purgatory.

The headline got it wrong.

[ZombieHorde]

12. What is the function of indulenges in the RCC? nt

[rug]

15. Sorry, my reply below was meant to reply to you.

[ZombieHorde]

21. Damnit! You know I haven't figured out how to scroll down.

[rug]

22. And I haven't figured out how to reply in the right place.

[No Vested Interest]

13. That's what I understand as well, rug, though

I do recall in earlier days that certain prayers and practices seemed to have temporal rewards listed as attached to them.
Time is a function of life on earth.
Since the afterlife is eternal, there is no beginning, middle, or end to it.

[rug]

14. The notion is that sin has consequence.

The teaching is that since Peter was given the keys to the Kingdom, the Church has the authority to alleviate the consequence of sin. The amount of time given is symbolic. The Church teaching has never been that particular sins carry "x" amount of years (or eons) in purgatory before achieving heaven or that dead people in purgatory are felons awaiting a parole date.

I did hear one other explanation that the times mentioned in connection with indulgences are the equivalent of so much time performing an ordinary act of penance - on earth.

[cbayer]

10. I'm not familiar with indulgences and I also thought sins could be forgiven by a priest

during confession.

The concept of purgatory always baffled me as a child. While my religious upbringing didn't include any such thing, that of my catholic friends did.

[MellowDem]

11. It's sad to me...

how the leaders of a fictional belief system based on a fictional book would then go and make up a further fictional place that wasn't even in the fictional book and promise their followers fictional promises based on fictional premises. You'd have to be pretty gullible to believe any of that, and you'd have to be pretty zealous to take advantage of people that gullible.

[rug]

16. Was this a post written under a fictional name?

[MellowDem]

19. I presume you are not a rug...

you seem to be able to type, so that's my first clue

I am relaxed and unhurried generally.

That doesn't make me apathetic.

If an organized belief system tells me to do something because I will therefore get less time in some supernatural punishment realm, I have no problem calling out that sort of terrible manipulation for what it is, all while being quite relaxed and unhurried. Maybe even with a beer in my hand.



Everyone I know personally finds me mellow. That's probably because real life doesn't involve discussion of political or religious matters in such an open forum.

I'd say I'm passionate in my beliefs, yet mellow all the same.

[redwitch]

24. You are definitely going to spend time in Purgatory.

[MellowDem]

26. Better than hell I suppose...

or maybe the Mormons are right, and there is no hell, I'll just be at the bottom of the heavenly hierarchy and get no planet of my own, but that's OK by me

[rug]

27. Maybe you'll get a shot at Pluto.

[Warren Stupidity]

28. Filed under even a clown couldn't make this shit up.