I just read that the Roman Catholic Church has brought back the old crowd pleaser - indulgences!When we last tuned in during the sixteenth century, Martin Luther's back was broken by the final straw, the selling of indulgences. After Vatican II, you never really heard about indulgences as a viable option.
Fear not, they are back.
The story goes like this ~ even if you confess your sins you still have to do hard time in purgatory, but if you get an indulgence you might not have to! At the very least you can have your time reduced ~ kind of like parole.
The Roman Catholic Church hasn't sold indulgences since 1857, but we are sure that will soon be in the offing since Pope Benedict XVI has shown there is nothing he likes better than to drag the Church back in time.
Indulgences are usually earned by praying. Saying the rosary a few times could knock 5 or 10 years off your sentence in purgatory.
“Why are we bringing it back?” asked Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn, who has embraced the move. “Because there is sin in the world.”
Tune in again soon. Perhaps the pope will bring back burning heretics at the stake.
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