Indulgence and the Catholic faith

Good to know that mediaeval practices are alive and thriving in the Catholic Church....

“In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets.

The church's granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.

The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.

But a senior Vatican official warned web-surfing Catholics that indulgences still required a dose of old-fashioned faith, and that paradise was not just a few mouse clicks away.” Guardian 16/7/13

The media have shone a fairly benign light on this bit of mumbo jumbo, just as they have donned the pink-tinted specs for the papal visit to Brazil. The men in frocks continue to receive positive coverage in much of the mainstream media despite the overwhelming evidence that the Catholic church has covered up the abuse of children and young priests for decades. It seems they still have not got the message that the crime is bad but the cover up - including the condemnation of victims – by nuns, priests, Bishops and the Vatican – is far, far worse. 

“As a seminarian, a priest known as "Father Michael", who wishes to remain anonymous while an appeal to Rome is made, said he was sexually assaulted by a parish priest, Father Paul Moore. Father Michael said the church failed to deal appropriately with his complaint over a 17-year period, and that he is now being ousted from the church while, he feels, his abuser is being protected.

Father Michael is recovering from cancer but has been refused permission by Bishop John Cunningham of Galloway to reduce his workload during his convalescence.

The church has demanded that he resign or face removal. The priest, who reported Moore to the police in 1997, said he feels this treatment amounts to punishment for whistle-blowing.” Observer 28/7/13

A rational human being ought to treat any comments arising from the Vatican with the deepest suspicion. So should the mainstream media stop indulging the PR puffery coming from Rome.