I do hope the USCCB puts up the address of James Cardinal Stafford of the Apostolic Penitentiary, just delivered in Baltimore. It was quite fascinating, and his quiet, humble delivery just added to the interest, to me at least.

He came to speak primarily of indulgences, highlighting for the bishops the recent publication of the English translation of the Enchiridion of Indulgences.

He spoke of purchasing, in 1952, right there in Baltimore, a Raccolta – a book of 781 prayers and action to which indulgences were attached. He spoke of the value of this book to his life – that without being aware of it, the Raccolta evolved into a rule of life and ministry for him.

He spoke a little of the reform of the practice of indulgences, the release of a new Enchridion in 1968, then a revision of that in 1999 in preparation for the Jubilee year, which has now been translated into English.

He went over the differences in the old and the new books, and then proceeded to talk to the bishops about the value of the Enchiridion and the Church’s teachings on indulgences in general. He had four points:

1) The pattern and practice of spirituality laid out in the Enchridion represent a way of life for the lay disciple of Christ. The four conditions required for an indulgence express what Paul called in Romans a conversion of mind. It is explicitly – and he emphasized that – explicitly designed to help Catholics overcome the split between professed faith and daily life.

2) Indulgences are an excellent way to promote the renewal of the Sacrament of Penance. I would have liked to hear more on this point he proceeded to make – that he saw it as, in some sense, a potential foundation for renewal of the Order of Penitents. He then brought in the Catechumenate, speaking of how as bishop in Memphis and Denver, he had understood and tried to put into practice the sense that the Catechumenate was only for the unbaptized. I am not sure how the two connect, and, as I said, I would like to hear more.

3) When an Ordinary petitions for special indulgences, that helps renewal lin his diocese. He gave some examples from European countries, bringing up the 900th anniversar of the cathedral in Parma, to which an indulgence was attached, and at the celebrations for which he saw very busy confessors.

4) He pointed out that it is all worth thinking about – that the practice of indulgences is a powerful reminder of the ecclesial mediation of the remission of sins. In this light, he mentioned a theologian/historian whose name I did not catch, but then he mentioned the dissertation written by Fr. Joseph Carola, S.J. on the subject, which was sort of startling, simply because it’s startling to hear the names of people you sort of know mentioned out of the blue at the USCCB meeting.

He concluded with a reflection on the Internal Forum, specifically with reserved sins, and particularly in relationship to priests, deacons and seminarians.

I am not quite sure what his deeper point was – I had a sense he was trying to communicate something to the bishops without coming right out and saying it.  Correct me if you heard him and think I’m wrong, but he seemed to be reminding them of the existence of these reserved sins (Violation of the Blessed Sacrament, Forgiveness/Absolution of a co-conspirator in a sin, and so on.)

He said that if he were an Ordinary, he would think carefully about the relationship between reserved sins and the general faculties of a priest regarding the sacrament of reconciliation. He mused on the historical roots of the reserved sin- that thorugh out Christian history, there have always been sins the forgiveness of which were reserved to bishops and, later, the Pope, and he related this to the general "wonder" and "sense of suprise" among the early Christians that the baptized could commit sins at all. He related it to Ephesians, Chapter 5 . Again, I am not quite sure what he was getting at, but would like to hear more.

He ended with a rather touching reflection on the last ten years – his service in the Apostolic Penitentiary – and how it had changed him. He quoted For the Time Being by Auden:

It’s as if we had left our house for five minutes to mail a letter, And during that time the living room had changed places With the room behind the mirror over the fireplace….

Jimmy Akin’s "Primer on Indulgences"

"The Gift of the Indulgence" from the Apostolic Penitentiary