The Reverend Harold A. Linn, Pastor

A Brief Commentary on the Pope’s Bull, Incarnationis Mysterium

By Dr. Richard P. Bucher

During a Mass on Nov. 29, 1998, Pope John Paul II handed over to 4 cardinals his latest Bull (another name for a papal encyclical) , called "Incarnationis Mysterium," (The Mystery of the Incarnation). Subtitled "Bull of Indiction of The Great Jubilee of the Year 2000," the papal edict intends to prepare God's people for a faithful and beneficial celebration of year 2000. According to the Bull, the holy year will begin on Christmas Eve, 1999 and end on the day of the Epiphany, January 6, 2001.

Surprising to many observers, however, is the content of this relatively short papal decree. With startling clarity, Pope John II affirms some of the most grievous false doctrines that brought on Martin Luther's 16th Century Reformation, probably most disturbingly, indulgences. The Bull raises the question, "Has Roman Catholicism substantively changed since the 16th Century, especially on the article of justification (how one is saved and forgiven)?"

This short commentary will (1) briefly summarize the Bull and then (2) analyze its contents to determine whether the false teachings of 16th Century Rome are still in place. I don't pretend to be unbiased in this commentary, but I do want to try to be fair in the analysis. To read the bull itself, click here to go to the Vatican's home page.

(1) The Outline of Incarnationis Mysterium and the Addendum "Conditions for Gaining the Jubilee Indulgence"

In this section I will note in brief what each paragraph of the document includes.

1. John Paul begins by seeing in the incarnation and birth of Jesus Christ the reference point for all that happens in time: " The Incarnation of the Son of God and the salvation which he has accomplished by his Death and Resurrection are therefore the true criterion for evaluating all that happens in time and every effort to make life more human."

2. In this paragraph, the Pope's emphasis appears to be twofold. First, he informs the reader that though the Jubilee year will be celebrated throughout the world, there will be two centers for the celebration: Rome and Jerusalem. Second, he notes in passing the purpose of the Jubilee year: It will be a grand opportunity for conversion and salvation throughout the world (a theme that is repeated throughout the document). Because of this, the Pope claims, the approaching Jubilee year should motivate Christians to prepare for evangelization.

3. In paragraph 3, John Paul recalls how the years of preparation leading up to the Jubilee year have been placed (by him in the Bull Tertio Millennio Adveniente) under the "sign" of the Trinity.

4. Here the Pope brings out the "ecumenical character" of the Jubilee celebration. Comparing the Jubilee to a wedding feast, he, the bishop of Rome, invites Christians of other traditions to join in the celebration. He expresses the hope that the Jubilee celebration will bring about reconciliation and unity between the churches.

5. John Paul recalls the very first Christian Jubilee, announced and decreed by Boniface VIII, in 1300. He praises Jubilees as "as significant steps on her journey towards the fulness of Christ" and as "a time when Jesus' invitation to conversion makes itself more deeply felt."

6. The Pope invites members of other religions to share the joy of Christians during the Great feast. It is in this paragraph also that John Paul announces when and where the Jubilee year will officially begin and end: beginning in Rome on Christmas Eve, 1999 and ending in Rome on January 6, 2001. All other Churches will celebrate its beginning on Christmas Day, in the diocesan cathedral nearest them.

7. Beginning in paragraph 7, John Paul lists several "signs" "which attest to the faith and foster the devotion of the Christian people" during the Jubilee. These signs are "signs of God's mercy at work in the Jubilee" (see par. 11). The sign mentioned in this paragraph is the pilgrimage.

8. The sign of the "holy door" is described in paragraph 8.

9 & 10. These two paragraphs deal with the sign of the indulgence, described by the Pope as "one of the constitutive elements of the Jubilee." This will be commented on more fully in section (2) below.

11. Now the Pope moves to mention other "possible" signs of God's mercy during the Jubilee, signs which he has previously mentioned in Tertio Millennio Adveniente. The first sign mentioned here is "the purification of memory; this calls everyone to make an act of courage and humility in recognizing the wrongs done by those who have borne or bear the name of Christian." This is essentially a call to repentance for all past and present sins committed by Christians.

12. In this paragraph the sign of "charity, which opens our eyes to the needs of those who are poor and excluded."

13. The sign of the "memory of the martyrs" is explained by the Pope in this paragraph.

14. The Pope's bull ends by an appeal to praise and seek the Virgin Mary for her mercy, grace, and protection.

Appended to the Pope's Bull is the four page document, "Conditions for Gaining the Jubilee Indulgence." Its subtitle declares, "By the present decree, which implements the will of the Holy Father expressed in the Bull of Indiction of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000, and by virtue of faculties granted by the same Supreme Pontiff, the Apostolic Penitentiary defines the discipline to be observed for gaining the Jubilee indulgence." This will be more fully described in the next section.

(2) An Analysis of the Contents -- Are the False Teachings of 16th Century Rome Still in Place?

To anyone familiar with the events in the 16th Century that led to Martin Luther's protest against Indulgences known as the 95 Theses, this Bull by Pope John Paul II leaves one in a state of stunned disbelief. In many ways and in many places this document clearly demonstrates that Rome (or at the very least this conservative Polish Pope!) still clings to the very anti-evangelical theology and false doctrine that Martin Luther exposed and fought against.

Indulgences, Purgatory, Pilgrimages, and Works-Righteousness

Prominent in Incarnationis Mysterium is the teaching of indulgences. Two lengthy paragraphs and a lengthy addendum is devoted to the Jubilee indulgence. The fact that Rome still holds to a theology of indulgences at all will no doubt come as a shock to many, including many Roman Catholics. But it is a well established habit of Roman Catholicism to deny nothing from its past theology (one of the biggest impediments to unity with them!). Such is the case with the indulgences.

The similarity between the indulgence theology of the late Middle Ages and the Reformation period and that of John Paul's bull is striking. From the time that Thomas Aquinas fleshed out Rome's position on indulgences to the present day, the theology of indulgences has remained constant.

An indulgence (from a Latin word that can be translated "kindness") means the remission or reduction of temporal punishment for sin. In other words, from Aquinas on, it has been held that

(a) the Sacrament of Penance gives the sinner the forgiveness of sin and eternal punishment in hell. But the temporal (this worldly) punishment remains, to be meted out both in this world and in purgatory. But, it is claimed, the Church has the authority to remit temporal punishments through issuing indulgences.

(b) They claim that can do this by taking from the surplus merits gained by the saints of old (the treasury of merits) and applying these surplus merits to poor sinners in the here and now through indulgences.

(c) Normally, the prerequisite for obtaining an indulgence is penance and the performance of some pious work or works.

(d) In addition, some special indulgences are declared to be plenary (full) indulgences, that is, indulgences that remove all temporal punishment for sin. The first plenary indulgence was given in connection with the First Crusade and since then it has been held that only the Pope can issue a plenary indulgence. Pope Boniface VIII was the first to issue a plenary indulgence in connection with a Jubilee year, doing so in 1300 (a fact mentioned by John Paul II in his Bull).

(e) Finally, in the late 15th Century, the Church's alleged power to forgive the temporal punishment for sins through indulgences was officially extended to the souls already in purgatory.

Each of these points is clearly articulated in Incarnationis Mysterium, as the following shows.

(a) In paragraph 10, John Paul II succinctly defines what an indulgence does and why it is supposedly necessary:

Reconciliation with God does not mean that there are no enduring consequences of sin from which we must be purified. It is precisely in this context that the indulgence becomes important, since it is an expression of the ""total gift of the mercy of God"".(16) With the indulgence, the repentant sinner receives a remission of the temporal punishment due for the sins already forgiven as regards the fault.

Note the logic at work here: through "reconciliation with God" (the Sacrament of Penance) we are purified from sin but are not purified from the temporal consequences of sin. Only an indulgence can purify a person from temporal punishment. Contrary to sacred Scripture, purgatory is repeatedly held forth in the document as a reality to be rescued from.

(b) The teaching of the treasury of the merits of the saints is upheld by John Paul II in the following words of the bull:

There are people who leave in their wake a surfeit of love, of suffering borne well, of purity and truth, which involves and sustains others. This is the reality of ""vicariousness"", upon which the entire mystery of Christ is founded. His superabundant love saves us all. Yet it is part of the grandeur of Christ's love not to leave us in the condition of passive recipients, but to draw us into his saving work and, in particular, into his Passion.

The "people" mentioned in this quote are clearly the saints of old. This is nothing but the traditional Roman teaching of the treasury of merits disguised in pious sounding language. When read carefully it is dreadful indeed and robs Christ of the glory which should be His alone.

(c) The traditional teaching of indulgences has always insisted that indulgences can only be given when certain "conditions" have been met. These conditions have always involved participating in the Sacrament of Penance and various other works. This is obviously still the case in the Pope's latest Bull, as the entire Addendum is devoted to spelling out what these conditions are (Note that the title of the Addendum is "Conditions for Gaining the Jubilee Indulgence"). Among the pious works specifically mentioned:

• One must go to private confession and receive absolution. This confession must be "thorough and complete." After doing this and also fulfilling the other conditions (see below), one can apply the indulgence repeatedly up to once a day without having to go to confession again;
• One must participate in the Eucharist;
• One must make a pilgrimage to either (i) one of four Basilicas in Rome; (ii) or one of two holy Basilicas in Jerusalem; (iii) or an appointed Cathedral Church or shrine in a local territory; (iv) or any place where one visits "the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly living alone, the handicapped, etc." For the indulgence to be granted at any of these locations certain pious exercises must be performed such as:
• "taking part devoutly in Holy Mass or another liturgical celebration such as Lauds or Vespers, or some pious exercise (e.g., the Stations of the Cross, the Rosary, the recitation of the Akathistos Hymn in honour of the Mother of God); furthermore, if they visit, as a group or individually, one of the four Patriarchal Basilicas and there spend some time in Eucharistic adoration and pious mediations, ending with the ""Our Father"", the profession of faith in any approved form, and prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary."
• If one cannot make such a pilgrimage one can receive the indulgence by taking part in "actions which express in a practical and generous way the penitential spirit," such as (i) abstaining from smoking or drinking or otherwise fasting for one day; (ii) donating money to the poor or financially supporting an organization of religious or social nature; (iii) donating time to activities that benefit the community.
• (d) The addendum specifically mentions four times that the Jubilee indulgence is plenary, but never makes clear what this means or how much is remitted.

(e) Both John Paul II and the Addendum explicitly state that the indulgence can benefit the Christian dead. John Paul II: "Furthermore, the truth about the communion of saints which unites believers to Christ and to one another, reveals how much each of us can help others living or dead to become ever more intimately united with the Father in heaven." The Addendum: "it should be noted that the Jubilee indulgence also can be applied in suffrage to the souls of the deceased: such an offering constitutes an outstanding act of supernatural charity, in virtue of the bond which, in the Mystical Body of Christ, unites the faithful still on pilgrimage here below and those who have already ended their earthly journey."

Conclusion

The Pope's latest decree, Incarnationis Mysterium, in that it repeats many of the same critical errors that Luther exposed and repudiated in the 16th Century, clearly demonstrates that the Pope and the Magisterium still reject the Biblical doctrine of justification by grace through faith (Romans 3:21-5:11; Galatians 2:1-3:14; 5:1-5). For the Biblical doctrine of justification gladly proclaims that Christ's vicarious life and death atoned for ALL sin, guilt, and punishment, including temporal punishment. Our forgiveness and salvation is completed, there is nothing left for us to do except to receive it through faith and make it our own.

Though sacred Scripture does distinguish between the forgiveness of sin and the consequence of sin it does so in a very different matter from the Pope. King David is a good example in 2 Samuel 12. He received pardon for his sin of murder and adultery through Nathan the prophet, but he still had to bear the consequences of his sin. For a time David was driven out of his kingdom by his own son Absalom. But there is nothing in this connection or anywhere else in Scripture that suggests that the temporal punishment of David's sins or any other believer's keeps them from heaven, or even more ridiculously, is carried over into a place called purgatory.

This is purely an invention of Christians who tragically misunderstood the complete forgiveness that Christ won on the cross. Those who understand the sufficiency of Christ's atonement and the doctrine of justification have no need for the damning silliness of indulgences, purgatory, pilgrimages, or works righteousness. To offer up these pathetic man-made works to God as if it would induce Him to forgive us, when He has already fully forgiven us in Christ, is to mockingly insult Jesus Christ and to treat Him with contempt. With Paul and Luther we continue to say: "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing" (Galatians 2:21).