I had thought that the Church no longer taught about

indulgences so I was surprised to see "conditions for gaining an indulgencementioned recently in your column. I would be grateful to know the current thinking and teaching on this.
One of the major themes of Benedict XVI's pontificate is that Vatican II should not be seen in terms of discontinuity and rupture with the past but in terms of reform and "renewal in the continuity of the one subject-Church which the Lord has given to us". As he says, the idea of discontinuity risks making a fundamental split between the pre-conciliar Church and the post-conciliar Church.
Sadly, many people have been misled by an exclusive emphasis on expressing truth in a new way, without the balancing affirmation of Pope John XXIII that the Council wished "to transmit the doctrine, pure and integral, without any attenuation or distortion". The result of this distortion is to see Catholic teaching as everchanging and to seek constantly for whatever the current teaching might be. The Council of Trent taught that indulgences were salutary and condemned those who said that they were useless or that the Church did not have to power to grant them. However, the Council of Trent was particularly concerned to eradicate abuses related to indulgences. The best source for a good understanding of indulgences is the document Indulgentiarum Doctrina (available on the internet) in which Pope Paul VI explained how the use of indulgences benefits our spiritual lives. The Catechism (14711479) is largely a summary of the teaching of this document.
Indulgentiarum Doctrina is a good example of expressing the truth in a new way while transmitting doctrine without distortion. In particular, following Vatican II's reflection on the Church, Pope Paul highlighted the ecclesial dimension of the use of indulgences: they show how the whole Church, the communion of saints, is united to Christ its Head, in bringing about satisfaction for sins.
What's your view? And do you have a dilemma of your own? Write to us at the address on this page or e-mail [email protected]