Vatican Council: Pious Bookkeeping

The votes came thick and fast as the 2,300 prelates assembled for the Second Vatican Council hurried to make the deadline for the four-year council's end on Dec. 8. By sizable majorities they approved, in principle, the 30,000 word schema on The Church in the Modern World, though there was some vociferous minority naysaying—notably from some conservatives who deplored the schema's encouragement of a "prudent" dialogue with atheists and from some Americans such as Archbishop Philip Hannan of New Orleans, who took exception to the schema's stern condemnation of atomic weapons and its scant suggestion of their peacekeeping capabilities.

Pope Paul VI took the floor of St. Peter's to promulgate two decrees: one on revelation (TIME, Nov. 5), which redefines the relationship between Scripture and tradition; another on the laity, which promotes laymen from the classical "pray, pay and obey" position to a role of Christian witness with less supervision from the clergy. Paul also announced that he will start proceedings for the beatification of Popes Pius XII and John XXIII, which could lead to canonizing them as saints.

As a corollary duty, the bishops, at the suggestion of the council's leaders, aired their views on a proposed reform of that ancient issue, the granting and gaining of indulgences. The resulting discussion reminded the world that this extraordinary set of spiritual transactions is still in force.

From the Treasury. Indulgences first appeared in the 11th century. In those days, the time to be served in penance for sin was often so long that it stretched beyond the penitent's life expectancy, and the indulgence granted for some special act of piety enabled him to cut back on the sentence. Later on, indulgences came to be conceived as release from some or all of the ac cumulated punishment time in Purgatory; the church could draw on its "treasury of merit," an increment gathered from Christ and the saints. The plenary indulgence, canceling all temporal punishment in or out of Purgatory due for a forgiven sin, was deemed by St. Thomas Aquinas to be sufficient to enable a soul to soar straight to heaven.

The abuses of this divine bookkeeping discredited the church and triggered Martin Luther's defection, but the indulgence structure still stands. According to Canon 911, "all men are to value indulgences highly," and indulgences of differing lengths are granted for various acts. Uttering "My God and my all" carries an indulgence of 300 days. If, "with faith, piety and love" one says "My lord and my God" at the elevation of the host during Mass, one gets an indulgence of seven years. Kissing the Pope's ring carries with it a 300-day indulgence but a bishop's gets only 50. Ascending the holy stairs in Rome on one's knees, "whilst meditating on the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ," is worth nine years per step.