When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs… – Johann Tetzel
When Martin Luther heard that catchy jingle sung by Johann Tetzel while raising funds for Saint Peter’s Basillica, it sparked the Protestant Reformation. Luther’s 95 Theses wasn’t so much a repudiation of Roman Catholicism as a repudiation of the system of indulgences. The Roman Catholic church was pimping purgatory as a system of religious blackmail, holding souls in a contrived spiritual prison until enough money had greased the palms of the Pope, and Luther had enough of it. It wasn’t until later that Luther, driven by a conviction against the infallibility of the Pope, reconsidered the doctrine of Justification and found problems far deeper than the perversity of indulgences.
The fact is, five hundred years later, the Roman Catholic church is still pimping purgatory as a system of religious blackmail. The Papacy is reminding the idolaters of the Roman Catholic church that people can receive indulgences up until November 26, 2017. Until this date has passed, Roman Catholic may receive indulgences in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Fatima, in which apparitions of the “Virgin” Mary appeared in Portugal.
A plenary indulgence, which removes all of the temporal punishment for sin (as opposed to a partial indulgence), is being given for those who travel to the idol of Mary called the Fatima Shrine and pray in front f it. This, of course, is designed to boost the tourist dollars collected through the shrine.
According to the Catholic News Agency, there are three prerequisites to receiving the indulgence.
1. Make a pilgrimage to the shrine
The first way is for “the faithful to make a pilgrimage to the Fatima Shrine in Portugal and participate in a celebration or prayer dedicated to the Virgin.”
In addition, the faithful must pray the Our Father, recite the Creed, and invoke the Mother of God.
2. Pray before any statue of Our Lady of Fatima
The second way applies to “the pious faithful who visit with devotion a statue of Our Lady of Fatima solemnly exposed for public veneration in any church, oratory or proper place during the days of the anniversary of the apparitions, the 13th of each month from May to October (2017), and there devoutly participate in some celebration or prayer in honor of the Virgin Mary.”
Regarding this second way, the rector of the Fatima Shrine told CNA that the visit to the statue of the Virgin, “does not necessarily have to be only at Fatima or exclusively in Portugal,” but can be done anywhere in the world.
Those seeking an indulgence must also pray an Our Father, recite the Creed and invoke Our Lady of Fatima.
3. The elderly and infirm
The third way to obtain a plenary indulgence applies to people who, because of age, illness or other serious cause, are unable to get around.
These individuals can pray in front of a statue of Our Lady of Fatima and must spiritually unite themselves to the jubilee celebrations on the days of the apparitions, the 13th of each month, between May and October 2017.
They also must “offer to merciful God with confidence, through Mary, their prayers and sufferings or the sacrifices they make in their own lives.”
The Roman Catholic church has set up and sponsored tourism sites across the world to take “pilgrims” to the Shrine of Fatima and capitalize on the special indulgence.
That’s right. For the low-low price of only $3,250 you can join the good archbishop to visit the idol and receive your get-out-of-purgatory-free card. If that’s too much, you can forgo the archbishop and travel with lowly priest from $1,850.
Nothing has changed. May God destroy the Pope with the brightness of his coming.
Ht: Dana Kerrigan
