The Abuse of Indulgences
Before the Reformation of the Catholic Church sparked by Martin Luther and the 95 Theses Indulgences in the Catholic Church were abused. By making a money contribution to the Church you would receive an indulgence, which would take away all the time you were going to suffer in Purgatory. Most people think that when you bought an indulgence it would heal all your sins however that’s not true!The only person that could get rid of your sins was a Priest during confession.
A famous and historical example of abusing Indulgences would be when Pope Leo X was granting indulgences for payments towards the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica. These indulgences would have been very expensive and unfair as the basilica took roughly 120 years to make, meaning it would have been a magnificent but EXTREMELY expensive build. Hence the Pope selling indulgences to afford it. This abuse was what sparked Martin Luther to officially begin his reformation, as he believed he could use this case as evidence.
A famous and historical example of abusing Indulgences would be when Pope Leo X was granting indulgences for payments towards the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica. These indulgences would have been very expensive and unfair as the basilica took roughly 120 years to make, meaning it would have been a magnificent but EXTREMELY expensive build. Hence the Pope selling indulgences to afford it. This abuse was what sparked Martin Luther to officially begin his reformation, as he believed he could use this case as evidence.