what are indulgences

Indulgences are a feature of the penitential system of the Catholic Church that grant full or partial remission of the temporal punishment due for sins. They are a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins. Indulgences are considered plenary or partial according to whether they expiate all or part of the temporal punishment due for sin. To gain a plenary indulgence, one must perform the work attached to the indulgence and make a sacramental confession, receive Holy Communion, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. Indulgences emerged in the 11th and 12th centuries when the idea of purgatory took widespread hold and when the popes became the activist leaders of the reforming church. Indulgences could be granted only by popes or, to a lesser extent, archbishops and bishops as ways of helping ordinary people measure and amortize their remaining debt. It is important to note that indulgences are not a permission to commit sin, nor a pardon of future sin; neither could be granted by any power. They are not the forgiveness of the guilt of sin; it supposes that the sin has already been forgiven.