What Does Indulgence Mean?

Indulgence is the inability to resist the gratification of desires or whims. It may denote a disposition which constantly submits to the will of someone, for example,' A bit too much indulgence will result in a spoilt child' or ' His disposition towards his old mother was one of devoted indulgence'.

In Catholicism indulgences were a very lucrative business in the medieval ages. It is defined as the process of granting forgiveness of sins for a fee. This reveals the corruption that was rampant in the clergy during this period. Indulgences occur when the Holy Roman Catholic Church grant a remission of sins from the Church's treasury of existing merit.

The business of attaching a fee to it ended in 1567 owing to the Decree of Pope Pius V following the conclusion of the Council of Trent which states that henceforth the attachment of any monetary gain to an indulgence was forbidden. Indulgences were to strictly be pardon for only those sins that were already committed and were not to pardon future sins.