From a reader:
Today, a priest friend of ours took us on a tour of the churches that will be closed. Needless to say, the churches to be closed are the most beautiful churches in the diocese.
I don’t know what I can do to stop the closings, but I’m willing to try. Do you any ideas?
I am particularly concerned about this beautiful Romanesque Revival style church. As we were leaving, we noticed the sign giving the details for the T.Q. Indulgence. Pope Pius X granted the indulgence forever to the church. The sign said that the indulgence is granted to all those who enter the church, every time they enter, with most of the usual conditions for a plenary indulgence.
How does one close a Church that has such an indulgence attached to it?!!
It is sad day when a church closes.
It may be very short sighted, considering the long-term.
On the other hand, if the bills aren’t being paid… what to do? The bill must be paid. Church isn’t free.
The Church changed the discipline concerning indulgences quite a while ago. The toties quoties indulgence grants are no longer in force. Any particular plenary indulgence can be gained once a day, not "as often as it happens howeverso often".
The issue of the old grant of an indulgence itself is not enough to prevent a church from being closed, even though our Catholic sensibility cries out at it. It just seems so wrong on a gut level.
