Fiery Cross, Volume 3, Number 40, Indianapolis, Marion County, 1 August 1924 — Page 2

PAGE TWO

Tfi e -n E i y "d-R o&sPriday, August5 1, 1924

The Ninety-five Theses of Luther

Leader of the Reformation Severely Criticizes the Selling of Indulgences "Pope Has No Power to Remit . Guilt," Declares Great Reformer

Following the printing in The Fiery Cross recently of the Protestation of Martin Luther, a number of requests have been .received asking that the ninety-five Theses of Luther be printed. In reading these the reader will note the severe condemnation of the selling of indulgences by the Roman Catholic church.

In one place Luther says: "Those who believe that, through

letters of pardon, they are made sure of salvation, will be eter

nally damned along with their teachers." In another place he says, in connection with the poor paying money to the church

for a priest to pray a deceased relative out of purgatory : "Why

does not the pope, whose riches are this day more ample than those of the wealthiest of the wealthy, build the Basilica of

St. Peter with his own money, rather than with that of the poor

believers?"

At another place Luther said: "To say that the cross set up among the insignia of the papal arms is of - equal power with the cross of Christ, ; is blasphemy." " The ninety-five theses follow: "."In the desire and With the purpose of elucidating the truth, a disputation will be held on the underwritten propositions at Wittemberg, under the presidency of the Reverend Father Martin Luther, monk of the order of St. Augustine, master of arts and of sacred theology, and ordinary reader of the same in that place. He therefore asks those who can not be present and discuss the subject with us orally, to fio so by letter in their absence. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. '

"1. Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ in saying 'Repent ye,' etc., intended that the whole life of believers should be penitence. ,"2. This word can not be understood of sacramental penance; that is, of the confession and satisfaction ' which are performed under the min1 Istry of priests. "3. It does not. however, refer solely to inward penitence; nay, such inward penitence is naught, unless it outwardly produces various mortifications of the flesh. "4. The penalty thus continues as long as the hatred of self that is, true inward penitence continues; namely, till our entrance into the kingdom of heaven. . ; "5. The pope has neither the will 1 nor the power to remit any penalties, except those which he has imposed by his own authority, or by that of the canons. '

6. The pope has no power to remit any guilt, except by declaring and warranting it to have been re

mitted by God ; or at most by re- ' mining cases reserved for himself;

in wnicn cases, ir his power were

despised, guilt would certainly re main.

Eastern Klarismen Preseni Tableau

"7. God never remits any man's

guilt, without at the same time sub'

iecting him, humbled in all things, to the authority of his representative.

the priest.

"8. The penitential canons are

imposed only on the living, and no burden ought to-be imposed on the

dying, according to them.

"9. Henee the Holy Spirit acting

in the pope does well for us, in that,

in his decrees, he always makes ex

ception of the article of death and of

necessity.

"10. Those priests act wrongly

and unlearnedly, who in the case of the dying, reserve the canonical

penances for purgatory. "11. Those tares about changing of the canonical penalty into the

penalty of purgatory seem surely to have been sown while the bishops were asleep.

"12. Formerly the canonical pen

alties were imposed not after, but before absolution, as tests of true

contrition.

"13. The dying pay all penalties

by death, and are already dead to

the canon laws, and are by right relieved from them. "14. The imperfect soundness or charity of a dying person necessarily brings with it great fear, and the less it is, the greater the fear it brings. "15. This fear and horror is suffi

cient by Itself, to say- nothing of ther things, to constitute the pains of purgatory, since it is very near to the horror of despair. "16. Hell, purgatory, and heaven appear to differ as despair, almost despair, and the peace of mind differ, "17. With souls in purgatory it seems that it must needs be that, as horror diminishes, so charity increases. "18. Nor does it seem to be proved by any reasoning or any scriptures, that they are outside of the state of merit or of the increase of charity. "19. Nor doe3 this appear to be

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proved, that they are sure and confident ot their own blessedness, at least all of them, though we may be very sure of it. "20. Therefore the pope, when he speaks of the plenary remission of all penalties, does not mean simply of all, but only of those imposed by himself. "21. Thus those preachers of indulgence are in error who say that, by the indulgences of the pope, a man is loosed and saved from all punishment.

"22. For in fact he remits to souls

in purgatory no penalty which they would have had, to pay in this life, according to the canons. "23. If any entire remission of all penalties can be granted to any one, it is certain that it is granted to none but the most perfect, that is, to very few. "24. Hence the greater part of the people must needs be deceived by this indiscriminate and highsounding promise of release from penalties. "25. Such power as the pope has over purgatory in general, Buch has

every bishop in his own diocese, and every curate in his own parish, in particular. "26. The pope acts most rightly

in granting remission to souls, not by . the power of the keys (which is of no avail in this case) but by the way of suffrage. "27. They preach man, who say that the soul flies out of purgatory as soon as the money thrown into the chest rattles. "28. It is certain that, when the

money rattles in the chest, avarice and gain may be increased, but the suffrage of the church depends on the will of God alone. "29. Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory desire to be redeemed from it, according to the story told of Saints Severinus and Paschal.

-"30. No man is sure of the reality of his own contrition, much less of the attainment of plenary remission. "31. Rare as is a true penitent, so rare is one who truly buys indulgences that is to say, most rare. "32. Those who believe that, through letters of pardon, they are

made sure of their own salvation, will be eternally damned along with their teachers. "33. We must especially beware of those who say that these pardons from the pope are that inestimable girt of God by which man is reconciled to God. "34. For the grace conveyed by these pardons has respect only to the penalties of sacramental satisfaction, which are of human appointment.

j "35. They preach no Christian j doctrine, who teach that contrition 1 is not necessary for those who buy i souls out of purgatory or buy confessional licenses.

"06. Every Christian who feels true compunction has of right plenary remission of pain and guilt, even without letters of pardon. "37. Every true Christian, whether living or dead, has a share in all the benefits of Christ and of the church, given him by God, even with

out letters of pardon. "3S. The remission, however, imparted by the pope is by no means to be despised, since it is, as I have i said, a declaration of the divine reI mission. "35. It is a most" difficult thing, I even for the most learned theolo- ! gians, to exalt at the same time in ! the eyes of the people the ample 1 effect of pardons and the necessity : of true contrition, j "40. True contrition seeks and ; loves punishment; while the ample- ! ness of pardons relaxes it, and

causes men to hate it, or at least

gives occasion for them to do so. "41. Apostolical pardons ought tp be proclaimed with caution, lest the people should falsely suppose that they are placed before other good works of charity. ' "42. Christians should be taught that it is not the mind of the pope

that the buying of pardons is to be

in any way compared to works of

mercy.

"43. Christians should be taught that he who gives to a poor man, or lends to a needy man, ddes better

than if he bought pardons. "44. Because, by a work of char

ity, charity increases, and the man

becomes better; while, by means of pardons, he does not become better.

but only freer from punishment.

"45. Christians should be taught

that he who sees any one in need, and, passing him by, gives money

for pardons, Is not purchasing tor

himself the Indulgence of the pope, but the anger of God. "46. Christians should be taught that, unless they have superfluous wealth, they are bound to keep what is necessary for the use of their own households, and by no means to lavish it on pardons. "47. Christians should be taught that, while they are free to buy pardons, they are not commanded to do so. "48. Christians should be taught

that the pope, in granting pardons,

has both more need and more desire i that devout prayer" should be made1 for him, than that money should be, readily paid. "49. Christians should be taught that the pope's pardons are useful, if they do not put their trust in them, but most hurtful, if through them they lose the fear of God. "50. Christians should be taught that, if the pope were acquainted with the exactions of the' preachers of pardons, he would prefer that the basilica of St. Peter should be burnt to ashes, than that it should be built

up witn tne sKin, nesn, ana Dones or his sheep.

"51. Christians should be taught

that, as it would be the duty, so it would be the wish of the pope, even to sell, if necessary, the basilica

of St. Peter, and to grve of his own

money to very many of those from

whom the preachers of pardons extract money. "52. Vain is the hope of salvation through letters of pardon, even if a

commissary nay, the pope nimsen were to pledge his own soul for them. "53. They are enemies of Christ and of the pope, who, in order that pardons may be preached, condemn the word of God to utter silence in other churches. "54. Wrong is done to the word of God when, in the same sermon, an equal or longer time is. spent on pardons than on it. "55. The mind of the pope necessarily is that, if pardons, which are

a very small matter, are celebrated with single bells, single processions, and single ceremonies, the Gospel, which is a very great matter, should be preached with a hundred bells, a

hundred processions, and a hundred ceremonies. "50. The treasures of the church, whence the pope grants indulgences, are neither sufficiently named nor known among the people of Christ. "57. It is clear that they are at least not temporal treasures; for these are not so readily lavished, but only accumulated by many of the preachers. "58. Nor are they the merits of Christ and of the saints; for these, independently of the pope, are al

ways working grace to the inner I man, and the cross, death, and hell to the outer man. "59. St. Lawrence said that the of the church, but he spoke accordtreasures of the church are the poor ing to the use of the word in his time. "60. We are not speaking rashly

i wucH r i; Day mdi iuc iw . o ... . r-hiirrh hoctnuforl ttirmich thft merits

of Christ, are that treasure. "61. For it is clear that the power of the pope is alone sufficient for the remission of penalties and of reserved cases. "62. The true treasure of the church is the holy gospel of the glory and grace of God. "63. This treasure, however, is

deservedly most hateful, because it

makes the first to be last." "64. While the treasure of in

dulgences is deservedly most ac

ceptable, because it makes the last

to be first.

65. Hence the treasures of the

Gospel are nets, wherewith of old

they fished for the men of riches.

66. The treasures of indulgences

are nets, wherewith they now .fish for the riches of men.

67. Those indulgences, which the

preachers loudly proclaim to be the

greatest graces, are seen to be truiy

such as regards the promotion or gain.

"68. Yet they are In reality in no

degree to be' compared to the grace of God and the piety of the cross. "69. Bishops and curates are bound to receive the commissaries of apostolical pardons with all reverence. "70. But they" are still more bound to see to it with all their eyes, and take heed 'with all their ears, that these men do not preach their own dreams in place of the pone's commission. .

'7t He who speaks against the truth of aDoetoltcal tuu-dbna. let him

be anathema and accursed. "72. But he, on the other hand, who exerts himself against the wantonness and license of speech of the preachers of pardons, let him be blessed. "73. As the pope justly thunders against those who use any kind of contrivance to the injury of the traffic in pardons. "74. Much more is it his intention to thunder against those who, under the pretext of pardons, use contrivances to the injury of holy charity and of truth.

"75. To think that papal pardons

have such power that they could ab

solve a man even if by an impos

sibilityhe had violated the mother

of God, is madness.

"76. We affirm on the contrary

that papal pardons Can not take away

even the least of venal sins, as

regards its guilt.

"77. The saying that, even if St.

Peter were now pope, he could grant no greater graces, is blasphemy

against St. . Peter and the pope.

78. We affirm on the contrary that both he and any other pope

has greater graces to grant, namely,

the Gospel, powers, gifts of healing etc., (1 Corinthians 12:9.) .

"79. To say that tie cross set up

among the insignia of the . papal

arms is of equal power with the

cross of Christ, is blasphemy. ...

"80. Those bishops, curates, and

theologians who- allow such dis

courses to have currency among the

people, will hare to render ' an account.

"81. This license in the preaching

of pardons makes it no easy thing, even for learned men, to protect the

reverence due to the pope against the calumnies, or, at all events, the keen questionings of the laity. ,

"82. As for instance: Why does

not -the pope empty purgatory for

tne sake of the most holy charity

and of the Bupreme necessity of souls-"-this being the- most just of

all reasons if he redeems an ; infinite number of souls for the sake

of that most fatal thing, money, to

be spent on building a hasilica this

Detng a very slight reason

"83. Again: Why do funeral

masses and anniversary masses for the deceased continue, and why does

not the pope- return, or permit the withdrawal of the funds bequeathed

for this purpose, since it is a wrong to pray for those who are already

redeemed?

84. Again: What is this new

kindness of God and the pope, in

that, for money's sake, they permit

an impious man and an enemy ' of God to redeem a pious soul which loves God, and yet do not redeem that same pious and beloved soul, out of free charity, on account of Its

own need? "85. Again: Why is it that the penitential canons, long since abrogated and dead in themselves in very fact and not only by usage,

are yet still redeemed with money, through the granting of indulgences, as if they were full of life? "86. Again: Why does not the pope, whose riches are at this day

more ample than those of the wealth

iest of the "wealthy, build the one basilica of St. Peter , with his own

money, rather lhan with that of poOT believers? " , - "87. Again: What does the pope remit or Impart to those who, through perfect contrition, have a

right to plenary remission and par

ticipation?

88. Again: What greater good

would the church receiye If the pojje, instead of once, as be does now, were

to bestow these remissions and par

ticipations a hundred times a day

on any one of the faithful?

"89. Since it is the salvation,: of

souls, rather than money, that the

pppe seeks by his pardons, why does he suspend the letters and pardons granted "long ago, since theyare equally efficacious? . "90; To repress these scruples and arguments of the laity by tprce alone, and not to solve them' by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the, pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christian men unhappy. "91. If then pardons were preached according to the spirit and mind of the pope, all - these '.questions would, be resolved with ease; nay, would not exist. "92. Away then with' all those prophets who say to the people of Christ: 'Peace, peace'; and there is no peace.

"93. Blessed be all those prophets who say to the people of Christ: 'The cross, the cross'; and there is no cross. "94. Christians should be exhorted to strive to follow Christ their head through pains, deaths.

and hells. "95. And thus trust to enter heaven through many tribulations, rather, than in the security of peace."

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