Many Protestants in the 40,000 schisms have memorized: “The Church was evil because it sold indulgences. That was so bad that Martin Luther had to ‘protest’ against it. The entire Protestant movement was a result of fighting against Church ‘corruption’.
The alleged ‘corruption’ revealed itself in the selling of ‘indulgences’. The Church allowed those who were sincerely penitent to receive some forgiveness by making gifts to help The Church in its mission to education, health care, orphanages, and prayer.
It is amazing how often we hear that such transactions are a sign of “corruption”. The same Protestants, of course, will promise God’s aid to members of their own congregations who make donations. The hypocrisy is never noticed. Those who say such things compound their error by believing that they are right, intelligent, knowledgeable, concerned, and deeply desirous of “justice”.
That kind of “anti-indulgence” thinking is a foundation stone of Protestantism. It is absolutely astonishing that none of those schismatics actually seek for the truth about what Jesus actually said about gaining favor with God by giving money to help His Church provide aid to the poor.
They studiously avoid Jesus’ words in Luke 11:37-41. “After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal. The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
So, we see that Jesus, Himself, taught that giving to God’s Church and the poor will means “and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
And what of the soul who knows of, or avoids, that passage and goes on condemning The Church for “the corrupt sale of indulgences”? They have compounded a lie with more lies. That makes them guilty of “Complex Fraud” and they end up even worse than if they’d kept their mouths shut about things that really were none of their business.
Catholics understand. We are grateful to God for having allowed our souls to escape such two-faced thinking and find salvation in The Only Church He Founded.
