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He added that "when an individual commits a sin, this impacts on the fellowship of believers. According to Catholic teaching, the church, as the communion of saints, has in it a richness of grace enabling it to forgive in the name of Christ." Such teaching, he said, could provide insights for progress between churches on pastoral matters, even though Lutheran objections to indulgences remained.

Dr Nyomi was also apparently impressed with at least this aspect of Roman teaching: "It was good," he said, "to learn from the Roman Catholic inputs that the indulgences was a way in which the church accompanied individuals in their dealing with the consequences of sin. This is a valid challenge to the individualism that may characterize some ways in which consequences of sin are addressed in some circles."

Copyright © 2001 ENI

Incarnationis Mysterium:Bull of Indiction of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 is available at the Vatican's Web site.

The 1998 document Conditions for Gaining the Jubilee Indulgence says that, "The plenary indulgence of the Jubilee can also be gained through actions which express in a practical and generous way the penitential spirit which is, as it were, the heart of the Jubilee. This would include abstaining for at least one whole day from unnecessary consumption (e.g., from smoking or alcohol, or fasting or practicing abstinence according to the general rules of the Church) or other similar forms of personal sacrifice." Read more here.

Other Christianity Today articles about the doctrine of indulgences include:

Protestants Boycott Jubilee Event | (March 6, 2000)

Many—But Not All—Churches Share in Opening of Jubilee Door in Rome | Historical ceremony's link to indulgences brings criticism from some Protestant churches (Jan. 24, 2000)

Taming the Reformation | What the Lutheran-Catholic Justification Declaration really accomplished—and what it did not. (Jan. 10, 2000)

Roman Catholics | Vatican Amends Indulgences Doctrine (Nov. 15, 1999)

Reformation Day Celebrations Ain't What They Used to Be | The Lutheran-Catholic Justification Declaration is a good step, but it's only a beginning. (Nov. 1, 1999)

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February (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45