Cardinal Piacenza: Indulgences, a
mantle of mercy in hour of crisis
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| A doctor assisting a coronavirus patient in China (ANSA) |
The editorial director of Vatican News, Andrea Tornielli,
interviews the Cardinal Major Penitentiary, Mauro Piacenza, about the new
Indulgences granted in favour of the sick and those who care for them during
the Covid-19 pandemic.
By Andrea Tornielli
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza is the Major Penitentiary, the
head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, the ecclesial tribunal responsible for
issues related to the forgiveness of sins in the Church.
In this interview with Vatican News, Cardinal Piacenza
explains the Decree published
on Friday, which grants special indulgences to those suffering from Covid-19
(the “coronavirus”), and to their caregivers, friends and family, and those who
assist them by their prayers. An indulgence “is a remission before God of the
temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which
the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed
conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of
redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the
satisfactions of Christ and the saints” (St Paul VI, Indulgentiarum
doctrina, Norm. 1; cf. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Indulgences”, para.
1471-1479.
Vatican News (VN): Can you explain the origin of the
decree on the indulgence in this time of emergency on account of Covid-19?
Cardinal Major Penitentiary Mauro Piacenca (MP): The
supreme law of the Church is the salvation of souls. The Church is in the world
to proclaim the Gospel and to offer the sacraments; that is, the superabundance
of gifts and divine grace that are put at the disposition of all. The crisis we
are going through at this time, now unfortunately affecting many countries
throughout the world, is manifest to everyone. We are living in a situation of
emergency: there are hospitals that are at risk of not being able to receive
the sick; there are sick people who are forced to live in isolation, and sadly,
even to die without the comfort and closeness of their loved ones; there are
sick people who are lacking the closeness of a priest for the Anointing of the
Sick and for Confession. There are very many people in quarantine, and entire
cities in which the population remains closed up in their homes because of the
norms issued by the authorities to contain the contagion.
VN: What are the most urgent necessities?
MP: The extraordinary nature of these times
demands extraordinary measures to help, to be close, to comfort, to assist, and
to ensure that people are not lacking the caress of God in the face of
suffering and the prospect of imminent death. For this reason, the
Penitentiary, acting in the service of the Pope and with his authority, has
issued the decree on indulgences.
VN: Can you list the details of this provision?
MP: First and foremost, a plenary indulgence is
offered to all people suffering from the coronavirus who are in hospitals or
quarantined at home. It is also offered, under the same conditions, to
healthcare workers, family members, and caregivers. Furthermore, an indulgence
is also offered to all those who, during this pandemic, pray for it to end,
pray for those who are suffering, and [pray] for those whom the Lord has called
to Himself.
VN: What are the conditions for receiving the grant of
the indulgence?
MP: They are very simple. The sick and their
caregivers are asked to unite themselves spiritually, wherever possible through
the media, to the celebration of the Mass or the recitation of the Rosary or
the Stations of the Cross or other forms of devotion. If this is not
possible, they are asked to recite the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and an
invocation to Mary. All others — those who offer prayers for the souls of the
dead, [and] for those who suffer, and plead for an end to the pandemic — are
asked, where possible, to visit the Most Holy Sacrament or to part in
Eucharistic adoration. Alternatively, [they can] read the Holy Scriptures for
at least half an hour, or recite the Rosary or the Way of the Cross. As is
evident to all, the recitation of prayers and the reading of the Bible can be
done without leaving home, and therefore in full compliance with the rules to
counter the spread of contagion.
VN: And those who are close to death?
MP: Those who are close to death and are not
able to receive the Anointing of the Sick, or to confess, or to receive
Communion, are entrusted to Divine Mercy. The plenary indulgence is granted to
each of them, provided that they are duly disposed and have regularly recited
some prayer during their lifetime.
As can be seen, a great mantle of mercy is spread over all
those who wish to receive it.
VN: The decree speaks everywhere of those suffering from
the coronavirus. What is the significance of the fact that the indulgence is
not offered to those who are sick from other causes?
MP: Let us always recall the good of souls: the
decree offers extraordinary measures due to the general emergency we are
experiencing. It extends to all the sick, because all those who are
hospitalized today are experiencing, in one way or another, the consequences of
the emergency on account of the pandemic.
VN: Let’s talk about the sacrament of Confession. Apart
from individual, face-to-face confession with a priest, are there other
possible ways to celebrate the Sacrament?
MP: General absolution, without individual
confession, can always be given in imminent danger of death, or — the Code of
Canon Law states — in cases of "grave necessity". As Apostolic
Penitentiary we have made it clear that, especially in the places most affected
by the contagion and until the phenomenon has ceased definitively, cases of
grave necessity occur. And so the diocesan bishops, for the good of souls, can
make decisions in this regard, as can priests in cases of sudden necessity,
alerting their bishop or informing him as soon as possible after administering
the sacrament. One might consider giving general absolution from the entrance
of the hospital wards where the infected faithful are in danger of death,
involving them as much as possible.
VN: What can you say about individual confession?
MP: We recommend that, where [individual
confession] takes place, it should always be celebrated in full respect for the
norms to contain the contagion, and therefore at a suitable distance with the
use of masks, obviously always safeguarding the sacramental secret.
As the Holy Father also did in his homily at the Mass of
Santa Marta on Friday 20 March, I would like to recall here the importance of
the act of contrition when one is unable to confess. It is a possibility
mentioned in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: the examination of
conscience and the recitation of the Act of Sorrow, a true contrition
accompanied by the intention not to sin anymore and to go to the confessional
as soon as it is possible, are pleasing to God, reconcile us with Him and
obtain the forgiveness of sins.
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