The Pope Mocks The Seriousness Of Sin And The Blood Of Jesus

World news

 Tuesday 16 July 2013 13.50 EDT

Vatican offers 'time off purgatory' to followers of Pope Francis tweets

Papal court handling pardons for sins says contrite Catholics may win 'indulgences' by following World Youth Day on Twitter

A court of the Catholic church, led by Pope Francis, above, warns that the faithful cannot obtain lesser punishment just by 'chatting online'. Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Tom Kington in Rome

In its latest attempt to keep up with the times the Vatican has married one of its oldest traditions to the world of social media by offering "indulgences" to followers of Pope Francis' tweets.

The church's granted indulgences reduce the time Catholics believe they will have to spend in purgatory after they have confessed and been absolved of their sins.

__________________

What do the scriptures say? 

He was still speaking when a bright cloud suddenly overshadowed them. A voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him. Keep on listening to him!" Matthew 17:5 ISV

Jesus told them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never become hungry, and whoever believes in me will never become thirsty. John 6:35 ISV

4Jesus answered them, “See to it that no one deceives you, 5because many will come in my name and say, ‘I’m the Messiah,’c and they will deceive many people. Matthew 24 ISV

"For by such grace you have been saved through faith. This does not come from you; it is the gift of God"  Ephesians 2:8 ISV

"Indeed, just as people are destined to die once and after that to be judged", Hebrews 9:27 ISV

This man is making a mockery of the death of God's Son. To think and then state that he can forgive sins if you "tweet", and then trivialize sin and the price God paid to forgive sins, is pure blasphemy. He will be silent when he stands before God. He will know then that there is no purgatory.  

This is so sad. So many are deceived. They look to man instead of the Word of God, who is Jesus. They do not want to read the scriptures which Jesus had written.  

___________________

Continuing on with the article...

The remissions got a bad name in the Middle Ages because unscrupulous churchmen sold them for large sums of money. But now indulgences are being applied to the 21st century.

But a senior Vatican official warned web-surfing Catholics that indulgences still required a dose of old-fashioned faith, and that paradise was not just a few mouse clicks away.

"You can't obtain indulgences like getting a coffee from a vending machine," Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the pontifical council for social communication, told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Indulgences these days are granted to those who carry out certain tasks – such as climbing the Sacred Steps, in Rome (reportedly brought from Pontius Pilate's house after Jesus scaled them before his crucifixion), a feat that earns believers seven years off purgatory.

But attendance at events such as the Catholic World Youth Day, in Rio de Janeiro, a week-long event starting on 22 July, can also win an indulgence.

Mindful of the faithful who cannot afford to fly to Brazil, the Vatican's sacred apostolic penitentiary, a court which handles the forgiveness of sins, has also extended the privilege to those following the "rites and pious exercises" of the event on television, radio and through social media.

"That includes following Twitter," said a source at the penitentiary, referring to Pope Francis' Twitter account, which has gathered seven million followers. "But you must be following the events live. It is not as if you can get an indulgence by chatting on the internet."

In its decree, the penitentiary said that getting an indulgence would hinge on the beneficiary having previously confessed and being "truly penitent and contrite".

Praying while following events in Rio online would need to be carried out with "requisite devotion", it suggested.

Apart from the papal Twitter account, the Vatican has launched an online news portal supported by an app, a Facebook page, and it plans to use the online social networking site Pinterest.

"What really counts is that the tweets the Pope sends from Brazil or the photos of the Catholic World Youth Day that go up on Pinterest produce authentic spiritual fruit in the hearts of everyone," said Celli.

"Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you don't participate in her sins and also suffer from her diseases." Revelation 18:4 ISV