"Cult of Mary"

It is one of the simplest and most straightforward law in the Church's Code of Canon Law:

Quote: Code of Canon Law #1190.1

It is absolutely forbidden to sell sacred relics.

The Latin actually makes this restriction stronger: "Sacras reliquias vendere nefas est."

Quote: FrGamble

It is one of the simplest and most straightforward law in the Church's Code of Canon Law:

Still:

"(Besides tithing) The Catholic Church also had a three other ways of raising revenue.

Relics: These were officially sanctioned by the Vatican. They were pieces of straw, hay, white feathers from a dove, pieces of the cross etc. that could be sold to people as the things that had been the nearest to Jesus on Earth. The money raised went straight to the church and to the Vatican. These holy relics were keenly sought after as the people saw their purchase as a way of pleasing God. It also showed that you had honoured Him by spending your money on relics associated with his son.

Indulgences: These were ‘certificates’ produced in bulk that had been pre-signed by the pope which pardoned a person’s sins and gave you access to heaven. Basically if you knew that you had sinned you would wait until a pardoner was in your region selling an indulgence and purchase one as the pope, being God’s representative on Earth, would forgive your sins and you would be pardoned. This industry was later expanded to allow people to buy an indulgence for a dead relative who might be in purgatory or Hell and relieve that relative of his sins. By doing this you would be seen by the Catholic Church of committing a Christian act and this would elevate your status in the eyes of God.

Pilgrimages: These were very much supported by the Catholic Church as a pilgrim would end up at a place of worship that was owned by the Catholic Church and money could be made by the sale of badges, holy water, certificates to prove you had been etc. and completed your journey."

I'm sure learning a lot. I didn't
know that none of these words
are in the Bible. Interesting.


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Some of them are, but you have learned an important truth I've been trying to tell you for a long time now. Christianity is not just about a book; it is about a living Tradition and the Holy Spirit guiding its development of doctrine throughout the ages.

Quote: FrGamble

and the Holy Spirit guiding its development of doctrine throughout the ages.

And I've been trying to tell you that's
a terrifying thought. That a deity called
the Holy Spirit 'guided' the Church into
the Crusades, into the Inquisitions, into
the witch hunts. Because if what you're
saying is true, that's exactly what happened.
It wasn't a small error, it went on for hundreds
and hundreds of years, thru countless priests
and archbishops and popes. All being guided
by this 'spirit' to do the nastiest business
imaginable.

This is the Church's history, not a rug big enough
to sweep it under.

As you can see throughout all of human history we are a fallen bunch. We don't always listen and we are strongly tempted to power and pride. It is part of our original sin. The Holy Spirit was working through human beings and as such they did not obviously follow its promptings.

Quote: FrGamble

As you can see throughout all of human history we are a fallen bunch.

No 'we' to it. If the HS exists, it's HS fault.
There would still be inquisitions today if
human progress had not forced them to
be politically incorrect. The Church loved
them, grew rich from them. Even Napolean
said:

“I am surrounded by priests who repeat incessantly that their kingdom is not of this world, and yet they lay their hands on everything they can get hold of.” — Napoleon Bonaparte

Again the Church established the inquisitions to protect people who were being charged with heresy and having street justice being taken upon them. When the inquisitions became political or vindictive the Church pulled out of them and condemned them as it did with the Spanish Inquisition. It is grotesque and ignorant of you to say the Church loved them. However, the quote form Napoleon is probably correct. Again it is not the Holy Spirit's fault that He cannot force mankind to be generous, loving, and kind.

Quote: FrGamble

Again the Church established the inquisitions to protect people who were being charged with heresy

Yeah, not really..

' The Spanish Inquisition sought to punish Jews who had converted to Christianity but were not really “sincere” in their conversions.
There is a great deal of irony in this. First you tell people they have to convert or die, then, when they do convert, you decide to kill them anyway because their conversions are not “sincere.” There was another reason for the Inquisition, which had little to do with the sincerity of conversions. Once Jews converted to Christianity they had an open access to the playing field, economically and politically. And, of course, they prospered mightily. That engendered a lot of hostility from the Christians - a pattern we have seen in Jewish history ever since the enslavement of the Israelites by the Egyptians. The basic accusation was that these Jews were not real converts to Christianity - they were secretly practicing Judaism. That was certainly often the case. There were large numbers of Jews who would be outwardly Christian but who would continue to practice Judaism secretly. The job of the Inquisition was to find such people, torture them until they admitted their “crime,” and then kill them.'

The Holy Spirit at work, no doubt.

Quote: Evenbob

Mark Twain said the Vatican has sold enough
wood from the cross to build a fleet of Noah's
Arks. He didn't think much of organized religion.

I could only find this quote from his travel book written when he went to the Holy Land in 1867
But isn't this relic matter a little overdone? We find a piece of the true cross in every old church we go into, and some of the nails that held it together. I would not like to be positive, but I think we have seen as much as a keg of these nails. Then there is the crown of thorns; they have part of one in Sainte Chapelle, in Paris, and part of one also in Notre Dame. And as for bones of St. Denis, I feel certain we have seen enough of them to duplicate him if necessary. - Innocemt's Abroad