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One of the Church's earliest official proclamations regarding a purgatory was
Pope Leo X's Bull of Exurge Domine. In the year 1520 he stated, along with
some other things, that death is the termination not of nature but of sin, and
this inability to sin makes [purgatorial souls] secure of final happiness.
In other words: according to Leo X, the occupants of a purgatory are unable
to sin; consequently they won't commit any new sins while undergoing
discipline and purification.
I'm sure it can be seen right off just how essential it would be for souls in a
purgatory to be incapable of sinning, because if they weren't, then Rome’s
promise in CCC.1030, of an assured eternal salvation for purgatorians,
would be a tenuous guarantee indeed since each new sin committed while
interred in a purgatory would add time to the penitent’s original sentence;
with the very real possibility of potentially snow-balling to the point where
they would never be released.
If Pope Leo X's Bull of Exurge Domine is correct as regards the absence of
sin in purgatory then I would have to conclude that it's a very peaceful place
seeing as how everyone in residence there would be complying with the
Sermon On The Mount and all the beatitudes.
One of the things that I would really appreciate in Leo's purgatory is civility.
I've participated on better than thirty Christian internet forums beginning in
1997, and one of the things I've noticed is that too many people wearing the
Christian label have forgotten all about turning the other cheek. Oh m' gosh
you wouldn't believe how ugly, spiteful, and vindictive Christians can be
when they put their minds to it!
In Leo's purgatory; there's no cruelty of any kind; for example dishonesty,
malicious gossip, demeaning comments, thoughtless remarks, name-calling,
toxic rejoinders, discourtesy, chafing, quarrelling, bickering, mockery,
relentless ridicule,
. . . fault-finding, nit picking, spite, rivalry, carping, bullying, heckling,
intimidation, wiseacre retorts, needling, taunting, biting sarcasm, petty ill
will, yelling, ugly insinuations, cold-shouldering, calculated insults, snobbery,
elitism, arrogance, subterfuge, antisocial behaviors, sociopaths, crime, war,
despotism, oppression, injustice, human rights abuses, character
assassination, etc, etc, et al, and ad nauseam.
If Leo is correct. then we can expect that all the Christian virtues, every one
of them, are being exemplified 24/7/365 in purgatory.
However, if Leo's Bull is full of bull, then I think we can reasonably expect
purgatory's social environment to be little different than what we're
accustomed.
Most Catholics regard purgatory as a safety net whence they will be taken in
the event they fail to sufficiently measure up to God's standards. However,
purgatory is not all that easy to attain. According to the Catechism, CCC
1035, Catholics are just inches from the worst. Should it happen that they
leave this life with just one non absolved mortal sin on the books, just one,
they go directly to Hell; no stop-over in a half-way house. No, their trip is a
direct flight. Even if they've been a faithful Catholic for 49 years, they will
miss the boat just as if they had been a Hindu, or a Muslim, or an atheist. All
their years as a faithful Catholic will be stricken from the record and count
for naught.
FAQ: Does the Bible teach the existence of a purgatory?
A: Though there are numerous passages in the Bible that allude-- i.e.
suggest --the possibility; all such passages are indirect references rather
than obvious, clear-cut, black and white teachings; ergo: there's a very good
chance that purgatory is the product of human reasoning and a fertile
imagination.
However, passages that suggest one thing, can also be made to suggest
another, so I do not recommend putting too much stock in Rome's ideas. It
is much safer to assume the worst, and then begin preparing yourself for it
in the event that purgatory turns out to be a huge mistake, viz: just as there
are no second place winners in a gunfight, it just might be there are no
second place winners in matters related to Heaven and Hell.
_