Indulgences still obtainable?

[pinctor]

I asked a priest if we still had indulgences. He said ‘no’.
The CCC is fairly sparse in this doctrine.
Any commments?

 

[EricFilmer]

I asked a priest if we still had indulgences. He said ‘no’.
The CCC is fairly sparse in this doctrine.
Any commments?

Yes, there are still indulgences, and they are still obtainable. I’m guessing that the priest’s statement stemmed from him not understanding your question.

The Church document concerning indulgences (both plenary and partial) is called Enchiridion Indulgentiarum: Normae et Concessiones.

The U.S.C.C.B. publishes an official English translation of this in a book called: Manual of Indulgences: Norms and Grants.

This information is also conveyed in Catholic Book Publishing Corporation’s The Handbook of Indulgences: Norms and Grants.

As an example of how the Church still promotes the practice of indulgences in modern times, in 2000 the Vatican ascribed a plenary indulgence to certain devotions in conjunction with Divine Mercy Sunday. Please see this Zenit article for more details.

 

[Fr_Michael_Grac]

Indeed they are. In fact, from time to time the church grants new ones (such as one for WYD pillgrims if I recall correctly)

 

[AllSeasons]

I asked a priest if we still had indulgences. He said ‘no’.
The CCC is fairly sparse in this doctrine.
Any commments?

My guess is that perhaps the priest thought of indulgences in the Medieval sense of the word. My understanding is that, back then, the rich and the powerful could “purchase” indulgences for their sins. It was a controversial practice for “fund-raising,” so to speak. The priest may have wanted to emphasize that this form of indulgence is no longer practiced.