[joubert]

Instead of sticking with the carbon credits analogy I'll articulate more directly what I understand from reading up on indulgences at https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm

For a sin that has already been forgiven, an indulgence is associated payment you owe that if you didn't pay, you will spend more time in purgatory.

If this is an accurate reading, does it not dilute the meaning of "forgiven"? Does it not amount to a money-making racket at best, or, more probably, extortion?

[klodolph]

You have some good points, maybe you should write them up and post them up where church-goers would see them, like a church door or something.

[pbourke]

“What’s wrong with the church?! We’ve got some theses!! (You’ll never guess how hard-hitting no. 95 is!) <next>”

[eru]

Though, of course, the church door bit almost surely never happened.

[Thorrez]

>Does it not amount to a money-making racket at best, or, more probably, extortion?

The vast vast vast majority of indulgences have no money aspect at all. See the list of plenary (meaning all temporal punishment is removed) indulgences on Wikipedia[1], none of them involve money.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indulgence#Plenary_indulgences

[mensetmanusman]

From your link:

“ Least of all is an indulgence the purchase of a pardon which secures the buyer's salvation or releases the soul of another from Purgatory. “

One might associate it with helping move an individual from a smaller circle to a larger circle of ethics: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Expanding_Circle

“ Singer discusses the relationship between biological capacity for altruism and morality. He argues that altruism, when directed to one's small circle of family, tribe or even nation, is not moral, but it becomes so when applied to wider circles. “

E.g. charity where you sacrifice your individual goods for the larger community is good for the soul.