Most Catholics honest with themselves will tell you same as we are seeing it now, throughout history the church has had good popes & bad ones. Imperfect men in an institution & there was abuse on indulgences, which was addressed by the 16th century in the wake of the reformation.

The Church has historically recognised that, for a Christian, there are two different forms of sin: Mortal and Venial. ‘Mortal’ sin is a deliberately intended act that is so serious in its nature, that it constitutes a radical rejection of Christ and His sacrifice for us, and ruptures our relationship with God. ‘Venial’ sin, on the other hand, is an act that, whilst sinful, is not so serious that it formally entails destroying our union with God. This is confessed by St John in Holy Scripture, when he tells us that “All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal” (1 John 5:17).

Sin entails a twofold punishment. On the one hand, there is the eternal punishment of Hell, which is suffered by anyone who does not repent of Mortal sin (through an immediate act of contrition to God, and then the Sacrament of Confession thereafter). On the other, however, there is temporal punishment.

Temporal punishment accrues to every sin, so whilst venial sin (of which any faithful Christian should, and does, nevertheless repent) does not lead to Hell, it does have that consequence. A fact of life, however, is that we often do not experience the temporal punishment of our sins on Earth, and our even our penances after the fact do not correspond to the punishment we are owed.

This is why the Church has also historically confessed that at our death, if we are Christians in a ‘state of grace’ (that is, a state of saving friendship with God) when we die, any outstanding temporal punishment we did not endure on Earth we will go through in a state called ‘Purgatory’, before we enter Heaven. This state involves the cleansing of our souls of any venial sins we had committed before we die.

We see this in the references that St Paul makes to the cleansing of those Christian clergy who build the Church poorly during their lives, in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. Using the imagery of a purifying fire, the Apostle relates that after we have died, our earthly works are ‘tested’. Our good works will survive the fire, purified as precious metals and stones, whereas any bad works will be consumed like flammable straw, and though we will ‘suffer loss’ we will be saved, “but only as through fire”.

God has not left us, however, without a way of dealing with the temporal punishments due to our sin, and avoiding purgative suffering after death. When Our Lord established the Church, He gave St Peter the power of the Keys of His Kingdom (Matthew 16:18-19, cf. Isaiah 22:20-22). This authority, possessed by the Church today through St Peter’s successors, the popes, extends to the temporal punishment due to sin. Just as the Church may absolve sin itself through the power given to her by Christ (John 20:21-23), so she may remit the temporal punishment due to sin.

You know… this may seem dogmatic to people but for those that believe, it keeps people constantly trying to maintain a state of grace. You may find it silly, but I likewise find the thought of “once saved, always saved” equally silly.

Most Catholics honest with themselves will tell you same as we are seeing it now, throughout history the church has had good popes & bad ones. Imperfect men in an institution & there was abuse on indulgences, which was addressed by the 16th century in the wake of the reformation.

The Church has historically recognised that, for a Christian, there are two different forms of sin: Mortal and Venial. ‘Mortal’ sin is a deliberately intended act that is so serious in its nature, that it constitutes a radical rejection of Christ and His sacrifice for us, and ruptures our relationship with God. ‘Venial’ sin, on the other hand, is an act that, whilst sinful, is not so serious that it formally entails destroying our union with God. This is confessed by St John in Holy Scripture, when he tells us that “All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal” (1 John 5:17).

Sin entails a twofold punishment. On the one hand, there is the eternal punishment of Hell, which is suffered by anyone who does not repent of Mortal sin (through an immediate act of contrition to God, and then the Sacrament of Confession thereafter). On the other, however, there is temporal punishment.

Temporal punishment accrues to every sin, so whilst venial sin (of which any faithful Christian should, and does, nevertheless repent) does not lead to Hell, it does have that consequence. A fact of life, however, is that we often do not experience the temporal punishment of our sins on Earth, and our even our penances after the fact do not correspond to the punishment we are owed.

This is why the Church has also historically confessed that at our death, if we are Christians in a ‘state of grace’ (that is, a state of saving friendship with God) when we die, any outstanding temporal punishment we did not endure on Earth we will go through in a state called ‘Purgatory’, before we enter Heaven. This state involves the cleansing of our souls of any venial sins we had committed before we die.

We see this in the references that St Paul makes to the cleansing of those Christian clergy who build the Church poorly during their lives, in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. Using the imagery of a purifying fire, the Apostle relates that after we have died, our earthly works are ‘tested’. Our good works will survive the fire, purified as precious metals and stones, whereas any bad works will be consumed like flammable straw, and though we will ‘suffer loss’ we will be saved, “but only as through fire”.

You know… this may seem dogmatic to people but for those that believe, it keeps people constantly trying to maintain a state of grace. You may find it silly, but I likewise find the thought of “once saved, always saved” equally silly.