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add some details and make the definition more precise.
'''Indulgences''', under the doctrine of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], are specific recommended prayers or actions which are intended to help bring a person, dead or alive, closer to perfection. A result of this is the lessening of the burning need to bring that person to a perfect state, necessary to enter [[Heaven]]. A person may seek an indulgence for a loved one who has passed away or for the temporal punishment of oneself. A plenary indulgence may be obtained for the living or the dead, known or unknown. While Sacramental Confession is needed for the forgiveness of sins, indulgences bring the sinner closer to perfection in his very person, thus reducing time spent in the state known as [[Purgatory]]. An indulgence cannot be seen as a replacement for confession, for obvious reasons.
'''Indulgences''', under the doctrine of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], are grants given to individuals which reduce the duration of one's stay in [[Purgatory]]. The purpose of Purgatory is to purify the person, after physical death, from minor sins and the residual of more serious ones previously committed in this life and forgiven. Once perfected, that person's soul is then given entrance into [[Heaven]].
A person may seek an indulgence for a loved one who has passed away or for his own "temporal" (not "eternal," i.e. hell) punishment. A "plenary indulgence"--for all punishment due up to the time it is granted--may be obtained for the living or the dead, whether known or unknown.
In the [[Middle Ages]], indulgences were frequently sold. The attack by [[Martin Luther]] on the sale of indulgences began the [[Reformation]].
While Sacramental Confession is needed for the <I>forgiveness</I> of serious ("mortal") sins, indulgences deal with the <I>punishment</I> that a soul is believed to require as a consequence having sinned. An indulgence cannot be seen as a replacement for confession, for obvious reasons.
Until the 1567 [[Council of Trent]], indulgences could be bought for specific periods of time. However, while both these old-form indulgences, and those of our own day, use time-based terms to indicate the relative worth of the indulgences available, they don't mean "x number of days off Purgatory" as though time in the afterlife can be compared to time on Earth. The time-based terms meant that the indulgence remitted the same amount of temporal punishment as that much time spent in the performance of penance on Earth would. Thus, an indulgence of 300 days means that it remits the temporal punishment that 300 days of doing penance would.
In the [[Middle Ages]], an indulgence was frequently sold and distributed by the Church in the form of a promissory note, much like paper currency. The attack by [[Martin Luther]] on the sale of indulgences was the action that began the [[Reformation]].
== See also ==
== See also ==