Rules for Distinguishing True Indulgences from Apocryphal Ones

"Among the other duties entrusted to this Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and Sacred Relics, this one is preeminent: namely, to distinguish true Indulgences from apocryphal ones and to proscribe the latter. It has discharged this duty by very many Decrees concerning apocryphal Indulgences, issued up to the present time and contained in the authentic collection of Decrees. But although this Sacred Congregation has always been vigilant from the very beginning of its institution concerning the publication of Indulgences, lest false ones creep in among the Christian people, nevertheless, since even in our age there are not lacking those who, moved either by ill will or even by irrational zeal, do not fear to spread among the faithful false, or at the least very suspect, Indulgences annexed either to prayers or to pious exercises, it has therefore come about that several Prelates have approached this Sacred Congregation so that it might issue its judgment concerning certain Indulgences. They did this principally, moved by the cause that not only might true Indulgences be distinguished from false ones, but especially that the way might be closed to the enemies of the Church for calumniating her and despising the heavenly treasury of Indulgences.

"Therefore, in order that this Sacred Congregation might apply a present remedy to this evil, insofar as it could be done, it resolved to establish certain rules or norms by which, when they were kept before the eyes, an easy way might be opened not only to Ordinaries of places but also to the Christian faithful themselves for discerning what judgment should be made concerning certain Indulgences which are commonly published among the people and display a doubtful mark of authenticity.

"When this proposal of the Sacred Congregation was reported to Our Most Holy Lord Leo XIII, His Holiness approved it and ordered it to be put into execution as soon as possible.

"Therefore, the Sacred Congregation, employing the study of the Most Reverend Consultors, took care that an Index of the aforesaid rules be worked out; it then submitted this Index for examination by the Most Eminent Fathers, Cardinals, in a general Congregation assembled at the Vatican on 5 May 1898. But they, after maturely weighing the aforesaid Index, reserved it, with some changes, to be weighed again by themselves in another Congregation.

"This was done in the General Assembly held at the Vatican on 3 August 1899, in which the Most Eminent and Most Reverend Fathers judged that the Index should be proposed as below:

"Rule 1. All indulgences contained in the most recent Collection published by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences are authentic.

"Rule 2. General indulgences which are not presented in the aforesaid Collection, or which are said to have been granted after the Collection was published, are to be regarded as authentic only when the autograph document of their grant has been authenticated by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, to which it must be presented, under penalty of nullity, before they are published.

"Rule 3. Let those Indulgences be regarded as authentic which were granted to religious Orders and Congregations, Archconfraternities, Confraternities, Archsodalities, Sodalities, pious Unions, pious Societies, certain more celebrated Churches, Pious Places, and Objects of devotion, and which are contained in Summaries authenticated and approved by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and printed by its authority or permission.

"Rule 4. Let neither general nor particular Indulgences be regarded as authentic which are contained in books, booklets, summaries, sheets, cards, or even images printed without the approval of the competent authority; this approval is to be granted after diligent authentication and distinctly expressed.

"Rule 5. All Indulgences of a thousand or several thousand years, at whatever time they are said to have been granted, are apocryphal or now entirely revoked.

"Rule 6. Let plenary Indulgences which are asserted to have been granted to those reciting only a few words be regarded as suspect; excepting Indulgences at the point of death.

"Rule 7. Indulgences circulated in printed or handwritten booklets, sheets, or cards in which, for frivolous or even superstitious causes and uncertain revelations, or under illusory conditions, Indulgences and graces exceeding use and measure are promised, are to be rejected as apocryphal.

"Rule 8. Sheets and booklets in which the liberation of one or more souls from Purgatory is promised to the faithful who recite one or another prayer are to be rejected as fictitious; and the Indulgences customarily added to the aforesaid promise are to be regarded as apocryphal.

"Rule 9. Indulgences asserted to be of more recent grant are to be regarded as apocryphal or at least gravely suspect if they are extended to an unusual number of years or days.

"His Holiness approved these rules on 10 August 1899 and commanded them to be published by a general Decree.

"Given at Rome, from the Secretariat of the same Sacred Congregation, 10 August 1899."

646. Rules of this kind, drawn up by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, August 3, 1899, and approved by Leo XIII, August 10, 1899, have the force of a general law.

¹ Cf. Acta S. Sedis, XXXII, pp. 241-249; Ami du Clergé, XXII, 1900, pp. 292-298.

"Rule I. All indulgences are authentic which are contained in the most recent Collection edited by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences.²

² This Collection is Raccolta di Orazioni e pie Opere... Roma, 1898, at the beginning of which it is read: "Moreover Leo XIII, Pope, by his apostolic authority approved this Collection of this kind... and therefore it must be retained by all as the genuine and authentic Collection of Indulgences hitherto granted for all the faithful of Christ and for certain groups of them designated there."

Rule II. General indulgences which are not displayed in the aforesaid Collection, or which are reported as granted, will then only be held as authentic when the autograph document of their concession has been recognized by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, to which, under penalty of nullity, it must be exhibited before they are published.

Rule III. Indulgences granted to religious Orders and Congregations, Archconfraternities, Confraternities, Archsodalities, Sodalities, Pious Unions, Pious Societies, certain more celebrated Churches, Pious Places, and Objects of devotion, which are contained in Summaries recognized and approved by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, and printed by its authority or permission, are to be held authentic.³

³ The principal work, in which these authentic summaries are contained, was edited by J. Schneider, S.J., under this title: Rescripta authentica S. Cong. Indulg. ... necnon Summaria Indulgentiarum, Ratisbon, 1885; it was recognized as authentic by the Sacred Congregation on December 16, 1882, so that all indulgences enumerated there are genuine.

Rule IV. Indulgences, whether general or particular, are not to be held as authentic when they are contained in books, in booklets, in summaries, in sheets, in little papers, or even in images, printed without the approval of the competent authority; this approval must be granted after diligent recognition and expressed distinctly.¹

¹ The competent authority in this matter is the Apostolic See itself, except, however, the following cases, in which the approval of the Ordinary of the place suffices: (a) in the concession of a particular indulgence, or in a Summary of indulgences which is to be taken from one Rescript only; (b) in a Summary already published by authority of the Sacred Congregation, except, however, the catalogue of Apostolic indulgences and the integral version of the Collection Raccolta; (c) in the Summaries of those Confraternities which, by concession of the Holy See, are erected by Religious Institutes or aggregated by Archconfraternities; for these the approval of the Bishop of that place where these Institutes or Archconfraternities have their principal seat suffices (Decret. authent., n. 388). - The approval must be expressed distinctly, i.e., with the name of the one approving, and also the place and time of the approval.

Rule V. Apocryphal, or now altogether revoked, are all indulgences of a thousand or of several thousands of years, at whatever time they may be said to have been granted.²

² Already by the decree of May 26, 1898, all those indulgences, if any were ever granted, had been revoked. In Acta S. Sedis, XXXI, 127.

Rule VI. Plenary indulgences which are asserted to have been granted to those reciting only a few words are to be held suspect, except indulgences in the article of death.

Rule VII. Indulgences are to be rejected as apocryphal which are circulated in booklets, sheets, or little papers, printed or manuscript, in which, from slight or even superstitious causes and uncertain revelations, or under illusory conditions, indulgences and graces exceeding usage and measure are promised.³

³ The reason is because the Holy See is not accustomed to grant indulgences except from pious and reasonable causes; if therefore ridiculous or superstitious things are found in booklets or sheets in which indulgences are enumerated, these must be held as apocryphal. The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences had already reproved some of those little sheets on May 26, 1898, in Acta S. Sedis, XXXI, pp. 727-744; for others already condemned by previous decrees see Ami du Clergé, XXII, pp. 296-297.

Rule VIII. Sheets and booklets are to be rejected as counterfeit in which liberation of one or of several souls from Purgatory is promised to the faithful reciting one or another prayer; and the indulgences which are customarily added to the said promise are to be held as apocryphal.⁴

⁴ In past centuries some Pontiffs had used that formula in granting indulgences, so that by these words they might signify that a plenary indulgence applicable to the dead was given; but today this mode of speaking is no longer employed, lest the faithful be deceived; for, as we said above (n. 559), no one knows in what measure indulgences are applied to the dead.

Rule IX. Indulgences of a more recent asserted concession are to be held apocryphal, or at least gravely suspect, if they are extended to an unusual number of years or days."¹

¹ The Church is accustomed to grant partial indulgences according to certain fixed formulas, for example, of 50, 100, 200, or 300 days, or of one year, or of 3, 5, 7 years and as many quarantines; if therefore formulas entirely foreign to the customary ones are found, for example, indulgences of 1080 days, they must be rejected as apocryphal.

Therefore let Bishops and pastors take care lest the faithful, especially the pious, be deceived in this matter and fall into superstition, neglecting the duties of their state in the hope of gaining extraordinary privileges which in reality were never granted.

567. Scholion. Rules for distinguishing true indulgences from apocryphal ones. Although the Supreme Pontiffs at all times have treated the whole matter of indulgences with the greatest vigilance, nevertheless apocryphal indulgences are sometimes circulated, to the harm of the faithful and the derision of the enemies of the Church. Therefore, on August 10, 1899, Leo XIII approved nine rules prudently elaborated by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences for distinguishing true indulgences from apocryphal ones:¹²²

Rule I. "All indulgences contained in the latest collection edited by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences are authentic." This rule concerns the collection commonly called the Raccolta.¹²³

Rule II. "General indulgences which are not presented in the aforesaid collection, or which are said to have been granted after the collection was edited, are to be held as authentic only when the autograph document of their grant has been reviewed by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, to which it must be presented under pain of nullity before it is published." This rule has now been changed slightly by the Code of Canon Law, c. 920; for all indulgences, whether general or particular (provided that they do not concern only the persons of the petitioners themselves), must be reviewed by the Sacred Penitentiary, and this under pain of nullity. Indulgences and faculties granted by the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, however, do not need such review,¹²⁴ as was already said above under n. 549.

Rule III. "Indulgences granted to orders and religious congregations, archconfraternities, confraternities, archsodalities, sodalities, pious unions, pious societies, certain more celebrated churches, pious places, and objects of devotion are to be held as authentic when they are contained in summaries reviewed and approved by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences and printed by its authority or permission."

Rule IV. "Indulgences, whether general or particular, which are contained in books, booklets, summaries, sheets, small papers, or even printed images without the approval of the competent authority are not to be held as authentic; this approval is to be granted after diligent review and distinctly expressed."

The competent authority in general is the Sacred Penitentiary, with the following cases excepted, however, in which even the approval of the Ordinary suffices:

1. If it is a question of publishing the grant of some particular indulgence, or of publishing a summary of indulgences which has been taken from only one apostolic rescript.

2. If it is a question of a new edition of some summary already published by the authority of the Sacred Penitentiary, with the following excepted, however: a) the list of apostolic indulgences; b) any translation of the complete collection of the Raccolta. In these two cases the permission of the Sacred Penitentiary is always required.

3. If it is a question of publishing a summary of those confraternities which either have been committed to some religious institute or are aggregated to an archconfraternity; for then the review and approval of that bishop in whose diocese the institutes or archconfraternities have their principal seat suffices.¹²⁵

Rule V. "All indulgences of a thousand or several thousand years, at whatever time they are said to have been granted, are apocryphal or now altogether revoked."

Rule VI. "Plenary indulgences which are asserted to have been granted to those reciting only a few words are to be held suspect, with indulgences at the moment of death excepted."

The Supreme Pontiffs have been accustomed with great liberality to grant a plenary indulgence to the Christian faithful placed at the moment of death, because then a man most needs indulgences, and ordinarily time and strength for performing greater works are lacking.

Rule VII. "Indulgences are to be rejected as apocryphal when they are circulated in printed or handwritten booklets, sheets, or small papers, in which, from slight or even superstitious causes and uncertain revelations, or under illusory conditions, indulgences and graces exceeding measure and manner are promised."

An example of such a superstitious and false prayer is that prayer which is said to have been found in the tomb of Our Lord Jesus Christ and once revealed to Saints Elizabeth, Mechtilde, and Bridget, and which was rejected as apocryphal by the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences on May 26, 1898.

Rule VIII. "Sheets and booklets in which liberation of one or more souls from purgatory is promised to the faithful reciting one or two prayers are to be rejected as fictitious; and the indulgences which are customarily added to the said promise are to be held as apocryphal."

Although in past centuries the Supreme Pontiffs sometimes granted an indulgence for the liberation of a certain soul, nevertheless this signifies nothing other than that a plenary indulgence was granted. The Supreme Pontiffs, however, never granted indulgences for liberating several souls from purgatory at the same time, and still less for a few short prayers.

Rule IX. "Indulgences asserted to have been granted more recently are to be held as apocryphal or at least gravely suspect if they are extended to an unusual number of years or days."

For a long time now the Church has granted partial indulgences, for example, of 30, 100, or 300 days, or of 1, 2, 3, 7 years, and so forth; but it is altogether foreign to the practice of the Holy See to grant, for example, an indulgence of 1,080 days, as was read to be annexed to a certain medal. Therefore the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences declared this indulgence apocryphal on February 23, 1856.¹²⁶ In our times, certain persons, led by bad zeal, calculate together all the indulgences granted to some prayer or confraternity, so that, this calculation having been made, at once a thousand or several thousand days and years of indulgence result. This manner of acting is to be reproved; for it often arises from an insane rivalry wishing thus to show that the indulgences granted to some confraternity are greater than those which have been granted to similar confraternities. It is to be desired that bishops by no means permit sheets or booklets of this kind to be printed, although the calculation may appear to correspond to the truth in every respect.¹²⁷

¹²² Cf. Analecta eccl. VII (1899), 494 ff., and the commentaries added there.

¹²³ Cf. above, n. 557.

¹²⁴ Holy Office, July 13, 1910 (Acta Apost. Sed. II, 575).

¹²⁵ Decreta authentica Congregationis Indulgentiarum, n. 388.

¹²⁶ Decreta authentica Indulgentiarum, n. 370.

¹²⁷ Thus Beringer-Steinen rightly says, loc. cit. I, n. 221, explaining this ninth rule.

Question 22. What are the rules for discerning true Indulgences from false ones?

Resp. The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences, by the Decree Urbis et Orbis, confirmed by the Supreme Pontiff on 10 Aug. 1899, established the following rules. Rule I. "All Indulgences are authentic which are contained in the newest Collection edited by the S. Congregation of Indulgences." Rule II. "General Indulgences which are not exhibited in the above-mentioned Collection, or which are said to have been conceded after the Collection was edited, will then only have to be held as authentic when the autograph document of their concession has been recognized by the S. Congregation of Indulgences, to which, under penalty of nullity, it must be exhibited before they are published." Rule III. "Indulgences conceded to Orders and religious Congregations, Archconfraternities, Confraternities, Archsodalities, Sodalities, pious Unions, pious Societies, certain more celebrated Churches, pious Places, and Objects of devotion are to be held authentic, which are contained in summaries recognized and approved by the S. Congregation of Indulgences, and printed by its authority or permission." Rule IV. "Indulgences, whether general or particular, are not to be held as authentic which are contained in books, booklets, summaries, sheets, small papers, or even in images, printed without the approbation of the competent authority; which approbation will have to be conceded after diligent recognition and distinctly expressed." Rule V. "Apocryphal, or now altogether revoked, are all Indulgences of a thousand or more years, at whatever time they are said to have been conceded." Rule VI. "Plenary Indulgences which are asserted to have been conceded to those reciting merely a few words are to be held suspect, with the exception of Indulgences in the article of death." Rule VII. "Indulgences are to be rejected as apocryphal which are circulated in booklets, sheets, or little printed or manuscript papers, in which, from slight or even superstitious causes and uncertain revelations, or under illusory conditions, Indulgences and graces exceeding use and measure are promised." Rule VIII. "As counterfeit are to be rejected sheets and booklets in which liberation of one or several souls from Purgatory is promised to the faithful reciting one or another prayer; and the Indulgences which are accustomed to be added to the said promise are to be held as apocryphal." Rule IX. "Indulgences of more recent asserted concession are to be held apocryphal, or at least gravely suspect, if they are extended to an unusual number of years or days." An authentic declaration of these rules and other things necessary to know concerning Indulgences are found in Beringer, Die Ablässe, pp. 808 and following.