According to the doctrine of Catholicism, the pope can grant indulgence.
Originating from the Latin indulgentia , the word indulgence describes or symbolizes the ease or predisposition to forgive possible faults or grant grace . The concept is also used in the religious framework to name the remission before the Supreme Being or divinity of the temporal penalties corresponding to sins that have already been forgiven after the intervention of the Church .
According to Catholic theology, therefore, the temporary punishment imposed after a sin can be benefited through indulgence or remission under certain conditions and according to the concessions or criteria of certain exponents of the Church.
Unlike penance or reconciliation , indulgence does not forgive sins, but rather offers an exemption from temporary punishment (whether earthly or after death, in purgatory). The pope, bishops and cardinals are the ones who can grant indulgence in exchange for various actions or rituals.
Indulgence in Catholic doctrine
Although indulgence is not a sacrament , it constitutes a very important aspect of Catholic doctrine. Experts say that one of the reasons that led Martin Luther to rise up against the Catholic Church to promote the Protestant Reformation was his disagreement with the traffic in indulgences.
Today, indulgences are still maintained as part of Catholic doctrine, although they have lost importance due to the change in historical context.
Beyond religion , indulgence is linked to the inclination to forgive and conceal mistakes. For example: "I know he was wrong but in my opinion you should be more lenient with your brother" , "Don't think I'm going to show leniency: the only thing that interests me is that they keep what they promised."
The notion of indulgence usually appears within the framework of the parenting process.
Natural breeding
Contrary to the system of rules and principles massively adopted when raising a person, there is an older procedure, based on meeting the real needs of children. It is called natural parenting and proposes a balanced and (in the best of cases) fair treatment, which seeks to educate without imposing, focusing on the particular characteristics of each individual, instead of blindly taking the advice spread by supposed experts.
Its defenders assure that this is the way in which children were raised in the past, trying to combat derogatory labels that reduce it to a mere whim that seeks to oppose without reason the customs adopted by the majority. In fact, the basis of natural parenting is freedom, diversity.
Indulgence and children
This methodology is very often confused with indulgence, and a judgment could not be made further from reality. There are various types of demands that children make, ranging from asking for a hug to candy. At these extremes there is a clear difference between what is desired and what is needed . Natural parenting focuses on this last point, which makes the task of parents more difficult, demanding much greater attention from their children and denying them the possibility of calming a cry with a treat .
On the other hand, in a typical family, indulgence extends far beyond childhood, and is the protagonist of great injustices that mark the lives of many people. Just as when defining this concept it is almost impossible not to mention religion, the same thing happens with machismo; Male children tend to be forgiven much more easily and frequently than female children, even when talking about equivalent mistakes. On the other hand, perhaps the most worrying aspect is that there is a tendency to forgive to avoid facing problems, which camouflages the indulgence of openness or empathy.