Catholic Doctrines of Salvation

1. Catholic Doctrines of Salvation

2. Catholic Doctrines of Salvation • Pope Gregory I the Great introduced several doctrines of salvation • Doctrine of penance: contrition, confession, punishment, priestly absolution. • Doctrine of purgatory: place of purification for those who die in sin • Those who die in faith & communion with church but without absolution go to purgatory • Living can help the dead out of purgatory by offering masses on their behalf • In mass, Christ sacrificed anew

3. Penance • Necessary for post-baptismal sin • Private confession before a priest • “Confess your sins one to another” (James 5:16) • The priest assigned punishment – usually almsgiving, fasting, praying • Absolution – Only a priest could grant absolution, or forgiveness for sin • Centralization of the church for salvation & forgiveness

4. Purgatory • A purification (purging) that takes place before one enters heaven • This purification involves pain & suffering • This purification can be assisted by the prayers & devotions of the living

5. Purgatory • Gregory I is considered to be the “Father of Purgatory” • However, early church fathers speculated about a fire where those who die purge their sins • Popular piety inspired stories of prayers for the dead • Gregory taught purgatory as official doctrine • “There must be a cleansing fire before judgment, because of some minor faults that may remain to be purged away” (Gregory I, Dialogues 4)

6. Gregory’s Vision of Purgatory • During Gregory’s time as the abbot of a monastery, a monk confessed on his deathbed to hoarding three gold coins • Gregory believed that this monk suffered in purgatory for his sin • He ordered daily masses to be prayed on the monk’s behalf • After 30 days, the dead monk appeared to his earthly brother to reveal that he had been released from purgatory & had been accepted into heaven

7. Scriptural Rationale for Purgatory • 2 Maccabees 12:38ff – Judas Maccabeus came upon a battlefield, where fellow Jews had died, each one with in idolatrous amulet. He encouraged his soldiers to pray for their fallen comrades & to offer silver in payment for their sins. The narrator approved these actions as “holy & devout. This was why he had this atonement sacrifice offered for the dead, so that they might be released from their sin.” • This story from the Apocrypha approves prayers for the dead & payment of indulgences

8. Scriptural Rationale for Purgatory • 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 – “The fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work …. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” • The believer whose work does not survive the purifying fire, will be saved, but only after punishment in the next world • Matthew 12:32 – “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come” • This statement holds forth the possibility that some sins shall be forgiven in the age to come.

9. Purgatory • The traditional view of Purgatory • A place of purifying, extremely painful fire • An indefinite, but not eternal, period of time • Only believers go to Purgatory; the wicked go to Hell; only the perfectly righteous go directly to heaven • The contemporary view of Purgatory • Purgatory is a process, not a place • An existential time • Purgatorial fire is an image of purification, but not a literal pain

10. The Mass as a Sacrifice • Communion = Mass = Latin missa, the dismissal of the congregation • Gregory taught that at every mass, Christ was sacrificed anew • Thus the living can help the dead out of purgatory by offering masses on their behalf Legend tells that Christ appeared to Gregory during mass

11. The Mass as a Sacrifice • Christ became viewed as a victim, not as the host of the Lord’s Supper • The Lord’s Supper became the reenactment of Christ’s sacrifice, not a remembrance • The Lord’s Supper became a sacrament, not a fellowship meal Crucifix at Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris

12. Treasury of Merit • Saints who have done more good deeds than are necessary for salvation can deposit merit in the bank of heaven from which others in need can withdraw for their salvation • Supererogation = “payment beyond what is due or asked” • First declared by Pope Clement VI in 1343

13. Treasury of Merit • The doctrine of the Treasury of Merit assumes that good deeds are necessary for salvation • It assumes that the deeds of one person can be applied to another • It is contrary to the all-sufficiency of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross

14. Indulgences • An indulgence is the reduction of a temporal punishment for a sin whose guilt God has already forgiven • This practice assumes: 1) that sin must have a penalty either on earth or in heaven; • 2) The existence of a Treasury of Merit • 3) The belief that the Church has the right to administer the benefit of these merits, either through prayers, good deeds, or payment

15. Indulgences • Plenary indulgences were offered to those who took part in the Crusades • Then they were offered to those who financed Crusaders • Eventually, they were offered to those who paid money to the Church, specifically to the Pope • The pope, as the representative of the Apostle Peter, had the Keys of the Kingdom with which to open the Treasury of Merit

16. Indulgences • The sale of indulgences led to gross abuses by the papacy & by professional pardoners • John Tetzel: “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs!” • These abuses led to Martin Luther’s 95 Theses & eventually to the Reformation

17. Indulgences • In 1567, Pope Pius VI canceled all sales of indulgences involving payment of fees • At Vatican II, Pope Paul VI made it clear that indulgences were not intended only to help the faithful make satisfaction for their sins, but also to encourage them to greater acts of charity • Today, indulgences to reduce punishment for sins for oneself or for those in Purgatory are granted for praying, reading the Bible, charitable giving & other acts of devotion

18. Catholic Doctrines of Salvation