That is precisely what happened in the early 16th century. In northern Germany a Dominican friar, Johann Tetzel, was credited with hawking indulgences for the dead by saying, “When a penny in the coffer rings, / A soul from Purgatory springs.” The system was finally killed by a young Augustinian friar in a neighbouring territory, Martin Luther. He was not (as is widely thought) moved originally to a critique of the system by these abuses but rather by his own terrible spiritual suffering. In any case, he drew up a devastating document, the Ninety-five Theses of October 1517. In number 82 he blew the lid off the system. Cleverly reporting the “keen criticisms of the laity,” he vitiated papal control of the Treasury of Merit by writing that the laity I believe present Church praxis would benefit if the granting of an indulgence were restricted to a special public ceremony of penitential readings, prayers, etc., at which the bishop in person would bless those wishing to gain the indulgence, after praying over them. It would be helpful, too, if the ceremony were linked to the Eucharistic celebration. In this way the recipient would more likely feel that the full authority of the Body of Christ is supporting him as he carries out the indulgenced work. Theologians looked to God's mercy, the value of the church's prayers, and the merits of the saints as the basis on which indulgences could be granted. Around 1230 the Dominican Hugh of St-Cher proposed the idea of a "treasury" at the church's disposal, consisting of the infinite merits of Christ and the immeasurable abundance of the saints' merits, a thesis that was demonstrated by great scholastics such as Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas and remains the basis for the theological explanation of indulgences. [40]

The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but the temporal punishment of sin remains. An example of this can be seen in 2 Samuel 12, when, after David repents of his sin, the prophet Nathan tells him that he is forgiven, but, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel:...Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife." [11] Terror over the fate of the dead stemmed from the church’s long-standing belief that if punishment for sin is not completed in this life, it continues after death when the soul departs for a spiritual place called purgatory. The soul must fully satisfy the punishment required by God’s justice before it can leave purgatory, come before God and enter heaven. The church has never claimed it could exercise authority over purgatory, the realm of God, to reduce punishment, but unscrupulous priests claimed indulgences could help the dead. The current practice of seeking indulgences Sergey Govorun [ ru]. "Индульгенции в истории греческой церкви" [Indulgences in the History of the Greek Church)].The faithful must cooperate with God’s freely given help, or grace, to heal the stain of sin. Still, according to Augustine and the church, regardless of effort, they are likely to sin again. The church teaches that even when a person has been ritually forgiven, God’s justice still requires some punishment to purge the sin – at the very least, suffering and miseries on Earth. Moreover, the church teaches, these hardships are to be welcomed because they purify the soul and heal the stain of original sin.

Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, Normae de indulgentiis, nn. 6-10, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 4th edition, 2004, pp. 22-23. ISBN 88-209-2785-3 A reflection on mercy. While in no way precluding other reflections on mercy, this condition may be satisfied by praying the Collect for Divine Mercy Sunday: Erasmus also criticized the abuse of indulgences in his foreword to his De bello turcico (1530), where he stated that it appeared to be "nothing but a commercial transaction" and described how the money that was collected disappeared in the hands of princes, officials, commissaries, and confessors. [54] Francis Xavier Lasance. "What is an Indulgence? – Indulgenced Prayers". From With God: a book of prayers and reflections (1911). On 31 October 1522 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenburg, protesting at the abusive sale of indulgence to fund the building of the new basilica of St. Peter’s at the Vatican. Many Catholics assume that the practice of indulgences ceased, if not then, at least by the time of the Second Vatican Council. Yet in 1967 Bl. Pope Paul VI issued an Apostolic Constitution ‘to give greater dignity and esteem to the use of indulgences’. Norms were issued the following year.The third indulgence was for those who made an offering for an "end of the epidemic, relief for those who are afflicted and eternal salvation for those whom the Lord has called to Himself." The offering was either a visit to the Eucharist, Eucharistic adoration, Rosary, Stations of the Cross, Chaplet of the Divine Mercy, or reading the Bible for half an hour. The conditions must be satisfied ‘several days before or after’ visiting the Holy Door. This period is generally taken to mean around a week before or after the visit. If possible, it is appropriate to receive Holy Communion and to pray the prayers on the same day as visiting the Holy Door. Confession might be at another time, and need not be at the Cathedral or church at which we visit the Holy Door. One did not, however, have to do it all by oneself. Medieval Christianity was a vast community of mutual help through prayer and good works, uniting the living and the dead in the Church Militant on earth, the Church Suffering in purgatory, and the Church Triumphant in heaven. The good works of Jesus Christ, the saints, and others could be drawn upon to liberate souls from purgatory. In 1343 Pope Clement VI decreed that all these good works were in the Treasury of Merit, over which the pope had control.

Beer, SJ, Peter J. (1967). "What Price Indulgences? Trent and Today" (PDF). Theological Studies. 67: 526–535. David Michael D'Andrea (2007). Civic Christianity in Renaissance Italy: The Hospital of Treviso, 1400–1530. University Rochester Press. pp. 15–. ISBN 978-1-58046-239-6.

Receiving, even by radio or television, the blessing given by the Pope Urbi et Orbi ('to the city [of Rome] and to the world') or that which a bishop is authorized to give three times a year to the faithful of his diocese. [17]