On the second day of the 33rd course on the “Field of Inner Conscience” held by the Holy Ascetic Bishopric, Cardinal Piacenza, President of the Holy Ascetic Bishopric, gave a lecture in person, and elaborated on the meaning of amnesty from a doctrinal point of view, Development historical and role in spiritual-pastoral practice.
(Vatican News Network)The Episcopal Holy Communion held its 33rd course on “Field of Inner Conscience” in Rome from March 20th to 24th. On the second day of the course, on the 21st, Cardinal Piacenza, President of the Holy Episcopal House of Amnesty, delivered a lecture in person, and elaborated on the meaning of amnesty from the aspects of doctrine, history and spirituality-pastoral care.
Christian Faith is not Ethereal Deism
Cardinal Piacenza first mentioned that the Catholic faith has undergone countless “modifications” and made many mistakes. In view of this, the historical fact of “incarnation” needs to be repeated. He explained that “the sirens of the world in many respects sound in unison, lest belief in the Risen Christ be reduced to a vain opinion,” fettering judgments of truth and goodness to your own “Wandering Feeling”. The Church, the cardinal stated, is the “supreme guardian” of the abundance of Christ’s mercy, “perpetually realized and renewed in the Sacrament of Reconciliation”. “Using the authority that Christ himself gave to the Apostles, the Church draws wisely and prudently from the treasury of divine mercy, not only forgiving sins committed by the faithful after baptism, but also pardons temporary punishments”.
The value of amnesty on the path to holiness
The cardinal then focused on “limited amnesty”. It suggests a relationship between the faithful and God in everyday life, that is, gazing at the heavens from time to time: short prayers, acts of penance, reading the Bible, acts of charity, etc. They all emphasize this very aspect of the relationship: “certainly amnesty has an atoning value, but any time is also appropriate to talk about its relational and spiritual value, and its support on the path to personal holiness” . In addition, the amnesty strengthens the communion of all saints, as it also applies to our deceased brothers and sisters who are still on a journey of purification towards eternal happiness. “In this sense, amnesty runs through time and space, almost tearing apart the time and space limitations of our earthly life, as a sustainer of eternal life after the resurrection.”
The phenomenon of amnesty is linked to money
Following that, the President of the Episcopal Holy Communion gave a detailed explanation of the Amnesty from a historical perspective: that is, some people ignored the relevant restrictions, some abused the Amnesty, some demonized it, and some wanted to abolish it . After the first century AD, Christians developed the ritual of praying for the dead. After that, the real amnesty did not appear until the eleventh century. Cardinal Piacenza confirms that the phenomenon of amnesties “linked to money” is certainly pathetic, although it can be explained to some extent by taking into account the cultural, social and religious context. Against these backgrounds, the sacrifice of even great wealth was common and reasonable in order to secure eternal salvation. The Cardinal further explained that some people have misunderstood the ecumenical movement, and in the name of false ecumenical unity with Reformed groups, intend to “put the issue of amnesty on the shelf in a hurry and keep quiet.”
Forgiveness and Non-verbalization
In the last part of Cardinal Piacenza’s lecture, some characteristics of mercy and forgiveness are emphasized: “It is not an act of mercy to talk about sin without truth; Not to mention worrying about not identifying sin, and letting believers be in a sinful state.” .”
Christ entrusts to all confessors the mission of giving forgiveness. Dialogue of friendship and true spiritual fatherhood are the paths that every priest should take in order to fulfill his “great responsibility to warn the sinner of the seriousness of his soul’s condition”: if he fails to do that, he himself is accountable before God above . Evangelical frankness, if present, makes amnesty a true medicine for the soul.
Finally, with regard to the general forgiveness, the Episcopal President of the Holy Communion concludes that there is only one condition for obtaining a general forgiveness, namely, in sacramental communion, through repentance and the Communion; in the same faith, by professing in the Holy Communion. Creed; in communion with the hierarchy of the Church, praying for people in accordance with the intentions of the Pope.
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