Indulgences before Vatican 2

[Trying2overcome]

I read somewhere that before Vatican 2 one had to get permission from their confessor to obtain indulgences. But after Vatican 2, indulgences can be obtained anywhere. All we have to do is look up plenary indulgences and that’s it. Also, now we can obtain as many indulgences in one day… Before v2 For example I guess the penitent would ask “can I say a rosary for a plenary indulgence?” And the confessor would either approve or disapprove. Is any of this true?

 

[PaulfromIowa]

I am too young to remember before Vatican II, but I am sure that that (indulgence requiring confessor’s permission) is not correct.

 

[ialsop]

No, incorrect. I too am too young to remember, but I know for a fact that there were MORE souls looking through their prayer books at home, seeing what counts as an indulgence, and saying that prayer or doing that deed to gain it, before Vatican 2.
They had an entire prayer book out with ALL prayers indulged by the Roman Catholic Church.

 

[Joe_5859]

The Old Catholic Encyclopedia is a good place to go to find out how indulgences were dispensed prior to Vatican II:

newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm

The article is from 1910.

 

[Zoltan_Cobalt]

An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, the guilt of which has been forgiven.

Priests cannot grant indulgences unless specially authorized to do so.

For interesting information about indulgences see: newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm

 

[Book_Worm]

Nope, absolutely not true.

Vatican 2 began, IIRC, while I was in HS. I still have my Missal from that time, and in it are several prayer cards which say "“Indulgence: seven years each time.” One says “A plenary indulgence once a month under usual conditions if recited daily.”

 

[O_Lumen]

All we have to do is look up plenary indulgences and that’s it.

I have something called the Blessed Sacrament Prayerbook, first published in 1913, and it’s absolutely full of indulgenced prayers. There’s probably anywhere from 100 to 500.

I would find it incredibly bizarre if, once upon a time, good Catholics had to come to their Confessor with a list of such prayers, and ask him for approval. That’s way too much micromanaging.

Likewise, plenary indulgences could be looked up then just as well as they are now. I would even wager that there were more ways of receiving a plenary indulgence back then, and that there were far more prayers one could recite to receive one. The current Manual of Indulgences isn’t exactly a phonebook.

 

[Thomas_Casey]

Question answered