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 INDULGENCES

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INDULGENCES

the whole time prescribed and in all its details. (Cf. Moran, "Essays on the Early Irish Church ", Dublin, 1864, p. 259.)

Another practice which shows quite clearly the dif- ference between sacramental absolution and the granting of indulgences was the solemn reconciliation of penitents. These, at the beginning of Lent, had received from the priest absolution from their sins and the penance enjoined by the canons; on Maundy Thursday they presented themselves before the bishop, who laid hands on them, reconciled them with the Church, and admitted them to communion. This reconciliation was reserved to the bishop, as is expressly declared in the Penitential of Theoilore, Archbishop of Canterbury; though in case of neces- sity the liishop could delegate a priest for the purpose (lib. I, xiii). Since the bishop did not hear their con- fession, the "absolution" which he pronoimced must have been a release from some penalty they had in- curred. The effect, moreover, of this reconciliation was to restore the penitent to the state of baptismal innocence and consequently of freedom from all pen- alties, as appears from the so-called Apostolic Consti- tutions (lib. II, c.xli) where it is said: " Eritqueinloco baptismi impositio manuum" — i.e. the imposition of hands has the same effect as baptism (cf. Palmieri, " De Pcenitentia ", Rome, 1879, 4.59 sq.).

In a later period (eighth century to twelfth) it be- came customary to permit the sub.stitution of some lighter penance for that which the canons prescriljed. Thus the Penitential of Egbert, Archbishop of York, declares (XIII, 11): "For him who can comply with what the penitential prescribes, well and good; for him who cannot, we give counsel of God's mercy. In- stead of one day on Ijread and water let him sing fifty psalms on his knees or seventy psalms without genu- flecting. . . . But if he does not know the psalms and cannot fast, let him, instead of one year on bread and water, give twenty-six solidi in alms, fast till None on one day of each week and till Vespers on another, and in the three Lents bestow in alms half of what he re- ceives." The practice of sub.stituting the recitation of psalms or the giving of alms for a portion of the fast is also sanctioned in the Irish Synod of 807, which says (c. xxiv) that the fast of the second day of the week may be "redeemed " by singing one p.salter or by gi%'ing one denarius to a poor per.son. Here we have the beginning of the so-called "redemptions" which soon passed into general usage. Among other forms of commutation were pilgrimages to well-known shrines such as that at St. Albans in England or at Compostela in Spain. But the most important place of pilgrimage was Rome. According to Bede (674- 735) the "visitatio liniinum",or visit to the tomb of the Apostles, was even then regarded as a good work of great efficacj^ (Hist. Eccl., IV, 23). At first the pilgrims came simply to venerate the relics of the Apostles and martyrs; but in course of time their chief purpose was to gain the indulgences granted by the pope and attached especially to the Stations. Jerusalem, too, had long been the goal of these pious journeys, and the reports which the pilgrims gave of their treatment by the infidels finally brought about the Crusades (q. v.). At the Council of Cler- mont (1095) the First Crusade was organized, and it was decreed (can. ii) : " Whoever, out of pure devotion and not for the purpose of gaining honour or money, shall go to Jerusalem to liberate the Church of God, let that journey be counted in lieu of all penance". Similar indulgences were granted throughout the five centuries following (Amort, op. cit., 46 sq.), the object being to encourage these expeditions which involveil so much hardship and yet were of such great import- ance for Christendom and civilization. The spirit in which these grants were made is expressed by St. Bernard, the preacher of the Second Crusade (1146): "Receive the sign of the Cross, and thou shalt like-

wise obtain the indulgence of all thou hast confessed with a contrite heart" (ep. cccxxii; al., cccLxii).

Similar concessions were frequently made on special occasions, such as the dedication of chun;hes, e.g., that of the old Temple Church in London, which was conse- crated in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 10 Feb., 11S5, by the Lonl Heraclius, who to those yearly visiting it indulged sixty days of the penanec enjoined them — as the inscription over the main entrance attests. The canonization of saints was often marked by the granting of an indvdgence, e. g. in honour of St. Laurence O'Toole I)y Honorius III (122(i), in hon- our of St. Edmund of Canterburj' by Innocent IV (1248), and in honour of St. Thomas of Hereford by John XXII (1320). A famous indulgence is that of the Portiuncula (q. v.), obtained by St. Francis in 1221 from Honorius III. But the most important largess during this period was the plenary indulgence granted in 1300 l)y Boniface VIII to those who, being truly contrite and having confessed their sins, should visit the basilicasof Sts. Peter and Paul (.see Jubilee).

Among the works of charity which were furthered by indulgences, the hospital held a prominent place. Lea in his "History of Confession and Indulgences" (III, ISO) mentions only the hospital of Santo Spirito in Rome, while another Protestant writer, Uhlhorn (Gesch. d. Christliche Liebesthiitigkeit, Stuttgart, 1884, II, 244) states that "one cannot go through the archives of any hospital without finding numerous letters of indulgence". The one at Halber.stadt in 1284 had no less than fourteen such grants, each giv- ing an imlulgence of forty days. The hospitals at Lucerne, Rothenberg, Rostock, antl Augsburg enjoyed similar privileges (see also the list of concessions in Lallemand, "Hist, de la Charity", Paris, 1906, III, 99).

Abuses. — It may seem strange that the doctrine of indulgences should ha\'c proved such a stumbling- block, and excited so much jjrejudice and opposition. But the explanation of this may be found in the abuses which unhappily have been a.s.sociated with what is in itself a salutary practice. In this respect of course in- dulgences are not exceptional: no institution, how- ever holy, has entirely escaped abu.se through the mal- ice or unworthiness of man. Even the Eucharist, as St. Paul declares, means an eating and drinking of judgment to the recipient who discerns not the body of the Lord (I Cor., xi, 27-9). And, as God's forbear- ance is constantly abused by those who relapse into sin, it is not surprising that the offer of pardon in the form of an indulgence should have led to evil practices. These again have been in a special way the object of attack because, doubtless, of their connexion with Luther's revolt (see Luther). On the other hand, it should not be forgotten that the Church, while hold- ing fast to the principle and intrinsic value of indul- gences, has repeatedly condemned their misuse: in fact, it is often from the severity of her condemnation that we learn how grave the abuses were.

Even in the age of the martyrs, as stated above, there were practices which St. Cyprian was obliged to reprehend, yet he did not forliid the martyrs to give the libeUi. In later times abu.ses were met by repressive measures on the part of the Church. Thus the Council of Clovesho in England (747) con- demns those who imagine that they might atone for their crimes by substituting, in place of their own, the austerities of mercenarj' penitents (Haddan and Stubbs, "Councils", III," 373; cf. Lingard, "History and Antiquities of the Anglo-Saxon Church ", 2nd. ed.. London, 1858, I. 311). Against the excessive indul- gences granted by some prelates, the Fourth Council of the Lateran (1215) decreed that at the dedication of a church the indulgence should not be for more than a year, and, for the anniversary of the dedication or any other case, it should not exceed forty days, this being the limit observed by the pope himself on such occa-