l the Apostles assembled together He made the same
solemn declaration.(473) By these words our Savior empowered His Church to
deliver her children (if properly disposed) from every obstacle that might
retard them from the Kingdom of Heaven. Now there are two impediments that
withhold a man from the heavenly kingdom--sin and the temporal punishment
incurred by it. And the Church having power to remit the greater obstacle,
which is sin, has power also to remove the smaller obstacle, which is the
temporal punishment due on account of it.

The prerogative of granting Indulgence has been exercised by the teachers
of the Church from the beginning of her existence.

St. Paul exercised it in behalf of the incestuous Corinthian whom he had
condemned to a severe penance proportioned to his guilt, "that his spirit
might be saved in the day of the Lord."(474) And having learned afterwards
of the Corinthian's fervent contrition the Apostle absolves him from the
penance which he had imposed: "To him, that is such a one, this rebuke is
sufficient, which is given by many. So that contrariwise you should rather
pardon and comfort him, lest, perhaps, such a one be swallowed up with
over-much sorrow.... And to whom you have pardoned anything, I also. For,
what I have pardoned, if I have pardoned anything, for your sakes I have
done it in the person of Christ."(475)

Here we have all the elements that constitute an Indulgence. First--A
penance, or temporal punishment proportioned to the gravity of the
offence, is imposed on the transgressor. Second--The penitent is truly
contrite for his crime. Third--This determines the Apostle to remit the
penalty. Fourth--The Apostle considers the relaxation of the penance
ratified by Jesus Christ, in whose name it is imparted.

We find the Bishops of the Church, after the Apostle, wielding this same
power. No one disputes the right, which they claimed from the very first
ages, of inflicting canonical penances on grievous criminals, who were
subjected to long fasts, severe abstinences and other mortifications for a
period extending from a few days to five or ten years and even to a
lifetime, according to the gravity of the offence. These penalties were,
in several instances, mitigated or cancelled by the Church, according to
her discretion; for a society that can inflict a punishment can also remit
it. Our Lord gave His Church power not only to bind, but also to loose.
This discretionary prerogative w