So are you saying in the example below the Pope was not speaking "ex cathedra", which if this is the case was the Pope in error for this promise??
Care to explain Pope Urban II’s promise for the remission of sins to those who fought in the Crusades? as a priest, he had the authority to forgive sins...he did.
hi eagle...
That is an easy one since the forgiveness of sins BY ANY PRIEST, let alone the Pope entails three very important conditions PRIOR to forgiveness:
1) The crusader must know and acknowledge his sins in detail by a detailed examination-of-conscience,
2) The crusader must make a ‘firm-purpose-of-amendment’ agreeing to sin no more as much is humanly possible, and
3) the crusader must have made an ‘act-of-contrition’ similar to this prayer:
“On my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because I have offended Thee , oh my God, who are all Good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of they Grace to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen”
So Urban essentially reiterated that He or another priest would forgive their sins if they were properly deposed, because even the Pope cannot forgive a sinner who does not accept the above conditions.
Regards,
AMDG
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11618c.htm