by Peter Eddington, David Palmer and John R Schroeder
Pope Offers Shortcut to Salvation
ROME: (New York Times/Special
Report) - For many Roman Catholics the year 2000 offers early salvation.
Pope John Paul II has announced that throughout the millennium celebration,
those who do charitable deeds, or give up cigarettes or alcohol for one
day can earn "indulgence" that will eliminate time in purgatory. Indulgences
are an ancient form of church-granted amnesty that release penitents from
certain forms of punishment. In fact the medieval church sold indulgences,
a practice that drove Martin Luther to rebel, finally leading to the Reformation,
from which many Protestant churches trace their beginnings. Some liberal
Catholics are embarrassed by a practice that seems to offer such a simplistic
shortcut to salvation.
In a papal document just released
entitled Incarnations Mysterium (The Mystery of Incarnation), John
Paul formally proclaimed the year 2000 a Holy Year. The edict will
also in many ways serve as a practical guide to spiritual salvation
during the millennium period. John Paul decreed that the jubilee would
begin on Christmas Day 1999, and end on the Feast of Epiphany January
6, 2001.
The pope says individual sinners
will be granted "plenary indulgences," a full pardon for sins as opposed
to a shortening of time spent in purgatory. In Catholic theology, souls
in purgatory are purifying themselves before entry into heaven.
The pope's decision to expand the
use of indulgences during the millennium celebration is not entirely
surprising. In 1985 the pope allowed Catholics to receive indulgences
via television. But indulgences (which began in early times of the
church) have not always been viewed favorably. In the 16th century
Pope Julius II offered indulgences in exchange for contributions to
the construction of St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Martin Luther protested
and was excommunicated in 1521.
