[caww]

.....”If people needed to expiate their own sins, it would take all eternity to do that, and still that would not be long enough”.....

Martin Luther fired up the Reformation because of these indulgences

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states,... "An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishment due for their sins." The Church does this not just to aid Christians, "but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity" (CCC 1478).

[Salvation]

The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”
From today’s Gospel reading (John 20:20-23).

Matthew 18
18 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

[Elsie]

...temporal punishment ...

Nyah - nyaH!

Don't say NUTTIN' about getting to Heaven!