punishment due to them, there remains a debt of temporal punishment, greater or less, to be paid by him, either in this life,—by means of good works, and especially by works of penance, as fasting, mortification of the flesh, and others of a similar character,—or in the next, in the fire of purgatory, before he can be admitted to the enjoyment of the glory of heaven. This likewise is sound Catholic doctrine, which cannot be called in question without falling into manifest and already condemned heresy.
The boundless mercy of our Saviour has furnished a means by which this debt of temporal punishment, whose duration and intensity no one can tell, may, with little difficulty, be diminished, or even entirely extinguished. For he has left to his Church the rich treasure of his own merits, which are of infinite value, and are accepted by the divine justice for the plentiful redemption of the human race, together with the superabundant satisfaction and merits of the blessed Virgin Mary and the saints; and this treasure he wishes his Church to use at all times for the spiritual benefit of the faithful. This doctrine is set forth by the Sovereign Pontiff, Clement VI., in terms not less clear than well calculated to inspire the faithful with full confidence of obtaining in great measure, and even entirely, the remission of the temporal punishment due to their sins.
These are the words of the Sovereign Pontiff:[1] “Jesus Christ, through the superabundant merits
- ↑ Extravag. Unigenitus de Pœnit. et Remiss.
