The final avenue that brings collusion of the Catholic spiritual economy with that of its real money economy is its doctrine, most notably, on purgatory. In the Catholic catechism, it states that "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." (Liveria Editrice Vaticana 1994, Article 12, III: 1030) This idea of a stopping place between heaven and hell "emerged in the middle ages and became a part of the Catholic Church's penitential system." (Ekelurd, 152) Of course, having this sort of thought that mankind could be stuck in a state of limbo could not survive without a means to extricate these souls from limbo and back into the loving fellowship of Heaven. Enter Indulgences. This facet of the Catholic canon allowed its many principal agents assert a far greater power over the pocketbooks of the people as they prayed for loved ones and were preyed upon by this undisputed dogma. As can be gathered from the evidence, the use of indulgences in the doctrine of purgatory enables the Church "to extend its power over the faithful into the world beyond death." (Ekelurd, 153) Humans attempting to do this should use extreme caution, for matters of afterlife and eternity do not frolic about like nursery rhymes, but demand earnest and humble contemplation.
Looked upon negatively by many commentators, the role of indulgences forced upon the layman by clerks and officials of the Church was finely tuned in the late 1960's, giving it a much more spiritual foundation, bearing, and goal than its counterpart. Rather than being steeped in money matters and revenue increase, the purpose of indulgences went back to the original necessity for the Catholic Church at all: to provide spiritual and moral counsel in a world that is busy with material concerns. For a good many centuries it was argued that the Catholic Church got its wires crossed, portraying itself in worldly garbs and motives. But that is neither here nor there, rather, for another scholastically inclined soul in pursuit of knowledge.
Works Cited
Cook, William A., The Destructive Power of Myth. New York University, September 22, 2003.
Ekelurd, Robert Jr in Robert F. Hebert, et. al. The Sacred Trust. (New York: Oxford University Press)
Pope Paul VI. Apostolic Constitution: Indulgentiarum Doctrina
The Catechism of the Catholic Church. (Livreria Editrice Vaticana, 1994).
This was an entry for The 2004 Moffatt Prize in Economic Writing. See the contest rules for more information.
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