Indulgentiarum Doctrina

With the Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina ( Abbreviation: ID) from February 1, 1967, Pope Paul VI. the " reorganization of indulgences " to. It is the traditional doctrine repeatedly (ID No. 11), the drain is for the individual Christian is not necessary for salvation, so it will be left to every Christian " in the freedom of the children of God" if he wanted to gain the indulgences offered by the Church. ( "The Church exhorts the faithful not to leave the sacred traditions of the fathers or to despise, they rather take as a precious treasure of the Catholic family in reverence and obey. , It leaves it but every single holy in and right of freedom of God's children to use such means of purification and sanctification. however you call them constantly to mind, which is on the way to salvation as necessary or as a better and more effective preferable. " )

The drain

The drain is the "Order of the temporal punishment for sins before God that are already forgiven in terms of debt ," said Pope Paul VI. Its origin is related to the change of Bußwesens (6th to 10th century ) together: by the public confession of sacramental private confession. In the private confession eliminated the previously usual public the sentence is served. With the commitment of repentance and the private confession of sins to a priest and immediately thereafter taking place absolution from guilt and eternal punishment for sin, the confession was completed. The penance was coming loose from the forgiveness issue. You could be converted into other works, taken on behalf of the other or adopted under certain conditions all: The indulgences arose. The drain is thus a partial indulgence or a plenary indulgence, according as it frees from the temporal punishment due to sin partially or completely. " Indulgences can the living and the deceased are facing (ID Nos. 1-3 ).

Promotion of faith

Paul VI. explained that the church indulgences not the only reason given to help the faithful in the serving his punishment for sin, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance and love, especially to those that contribute to the growth in faith and to the common good. But if the faithful turn indulgences to the assistance of the deceased, they exercise an excellent way of love. And by thinking of the heavenly things, make them also that are earthy better.

Community life

The Christian, by the grace of God to purify himself of his sin and seeks to sanctify, is not alone. "The life of every child of God is joined in Christ and through Christ with the lives of all the other Christian brethren in the supernatural unity of the Mystical Body of Christ, as in a single mystical person wonderful band" ( ID No. 5). In the communion of saints " is among the faithful - they were already in the heavenly homeland or expiatory in purgatory or even on the earthly pilgrimage - in fact a permanent bond of love and an abundant exchange of all goods " (ibid.). In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one benefits the other, more so than the sin of can harm one another. To allow the use of the communion of saints, the contrite sinner be purified of the punishments for sin and effective.

Church treasure

These spiritual goods of the communion of saints we call it the " treasury of the church, he is no such thing as a sum of goods by type of material wealth that have been accumulated over the centuries. Rather, it consists in the infinite and inexhaustible value the expiation to God the benefits and merits of Christ, our Lord did, that were offered so that the whole of mankind be set free from sin and attain communion with the Father. The treasury of the church is Christ, the Redeemer himself, inasmuch as in it the satisfactions and merits of his Redemption existence and validity have " ( ID No. 5). "In addition, part of this treasure also the truly immense, inexhaustible and always new value before God have the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints. They are the footsteps of Christ the Lord, followed by his grace have sanctified themselves, and completes the work applied by the Father. " (Ibid.).