Indulgence

An indulgence, in Roman Catholic theology, means that temporal punishment (punishment here on Earth) for sins which have already been forgiven is taken from the sinner.^[1]

A Roman Catholic indulgence, dated Dec. 19, 1521. The use of the printing press made possible the mass production of form documents offering indulgences.

The indulgence is given by the church after the sinner has confessed and received absolution.^[2] Indulgences replaced the severe penances of the early church.

The basis of indulgences was said to be that the church has a "treasury of merit". This came from past Christians who had been even better than was required to gain salvation. Their good deeds were kept in a kind of bank that the Pope could draw from. He could give or sell the merit to others whose sins prevented them from being saved.

During the crusades, the Pope promised "full indulgence" to those who volunteered to fight the Muslims. This meant that if they became soldiers in the Pope's army and died, they would go to heaven even if they had done evil things.

By 1500, indulgences had developed into a printed letter that said that having paid money a person had received full pardon for all their sins. Even people who had died and were suffering in purgatory could be instantly freed if a living person paid for the indulgence. The money was used for building a church in Rome, with some of it going to local princes or secular leaders.

This extreme abuse of indulgences caused Martin Luther to protest against them. Luther said that it is better to give money to the poor and repent of one's sins instead of paying money to the Church. This was the starting point for the Protestant Reformation (1517). Soon after, at the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church tried to respond to the problems that led to the Reformation and the sale of indulgences was stopped.

In modern times, the idea of indulgences has occasionally been used by the Catholic Church, but only as a reward for certain pious acts, and not as a full pardon for sins.

Indulgence Media

Inscription on the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome: Indulgentia plenaria perpetua quotidiana toties quoties pro vivis et defunctis (English: "Perpetual everyday plenary indulgence on every occasion for the living and the dead")
Apostolic Benediction and Plenary Indulgence Parchment
Archbishop Socrates B. Villegas bestows the Easter Mass Plenary Indulgence in 2012 (St. John the Evangelist Metropolitan Cathedral, Dagupan, Philippines)
A 1948 reproduction of the Stradanus engraving, a 17th-century certificate for indulgences, in return for cash contributions to build a shrine.
A Question to a Mintmaker, woodcut by Jörg Breu the Elder of Augsburg, circa 1530, presenting the Pope and indulgences as one of three causes of inflation, the others being minting of debased coinage and cheating by merchants.
Engraving of the Mass of Saint Gregory by Israhel van Meckenem, 1490s, with an unauthorized indulgence at the bottom
Satan distributing indulgences, an illumination from a Czech manuscript, 1490s; Jan Hus (the main leader of the Bohemian Reformation) had condemned the selling of indulgences in 1412.
Tetzel's coffer, on display at the St. Nikolai church in Jüterbog
An 18th-century absolution certificate granted by the Patriarch of Jerusalem and sold by Greek monks in Wallachia (History Museum, Bucharest)