Indulgence

What it is

An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven. The Church, as minister of redemption, dispenses from the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints. Indulgences may be partial or plenary, and may be applied to oneself or to the dead (as suffrage).

This doctrine assumes a serious truth: forgiveness removes guilt, but the disorder sin leaves in its wake still needs healing—in this life or in Purgatory.

What it is not

An indulgence is not permission to sin. It is not the forgiveness of guilt (that is Confession). It is not a medieval scam the Church "used to sell"; the Council of Trent reformed abuses while reaffirming the doctrine. It is not automatic merely because you walked into a church—prescribed works and the proper dispositions matter.

How a Catholic encounters it

You encounter indulgences in the Enchiridion of Indulgences and in common practices: a devout Rosary under the usual conditions, Scripture reading, the Way of the Cross, visits to a cemetery in early November, and many other prescribed acts. For a plenary indulgenceGlossaryA plenary indulgence remits all temporal punishment; a partial remits part. Both require the Church's grant and the proper dispositions., the Church requires the usual conditions: Confession, Communion, prayer for the Pope's intentions, and freedom from attachment to sin—even venial. See also plenary vs. partial indulgence.