Clarification on my teaching on purgatory

Clarification on my teaching on purgatory

Email from Paul Dion, STL (Theology Editor of Parishworld.net)
Laurence:Your teaching about purgatory is fine but I find it a little too "sin oriented." If I am not mistaken the statements of the councils are primarily oriented to the temporal remains of sins already forgiven. This does not mean that venial sins and bad habits don't enter into the doctrine, but I suggest that you let your disciples know that there is temporal effect of forgiven sins involved in the Catholic doctrine about purgatory. This is important because the doctrine of indulgences is focused on the relief of temporal effects of sins by the spiritual practices defined by the Church.

Hi Mr. Dion:
Thank you for your comments, and giving me the opportunity to elaborate further. I suspect you are referring to the little section I had in week 2 of our YASFC study of the Catechism, where I had a section called “Why do Catholics Believe That?”, and it read:

Why Do Catholics Believe That?
Purgatory
1. Nothing impure can enter Heaven
2. If we die in a state of grace (no mortal sins on the soul), but still have some venial sins, bad habits, etc., we are still impure
3. So, if there is sin in this life, and none in the next, and if we are still sinning until we die, then between death and Glory, there must be a way we are purified.
4. This state or place is called Purgatory.

I think you are right. I focused this very short apologetics lesson on the idea of sin, rather than on the notion of the “temporal remains” of sin. Since this segment was apologetic in nature, the main point I wanted to instill in the group is that there is no impurity in heaven, and there is still impurities on our souls at the end of this life, so somehow we need to be cleansed. Whether this “time” in purgatory is temporal or existential in nature, is yet to be dogmatically defined. But, I do not exclude the points you made. In fact, digging through my archive, I found 2 relevant articles I wrote in 2006 which elaborates on your points.

What is the difference between the spiritual and the temporal damage of sin? (08/29/06)
Do Catholics still believe in Indulgences?(To René) (11/19/06)

Thank you.

Instaurare Omnia In Christo,
Laurence