MyCatholicSource.com - 'Quick Help' Page: Are Indulgences In The Raccolta Still Valid?

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Since changes were made to indulgences in the wake of Vatican II, various indulgences appearing in the beloved Raccolta may be 'null and void' from a technical/legal standpoint. However, couldn't Catholics be forgiven for hoping that God might favor honoring traditional indulgences – originally intended to be granted "for ever" – when requested by Catholics in the right spirit, considering the following (which appears near the beginning of a 19th century version of the Raccolta)...?

"This, devout reader, I have thought it right to say to you by way of preface, in presenting to you this collection of prayers and pious exercises, to which Sovereign Pontiffs have granted holy Indulgences, Plenary and Partial... Accordingly I have restricted myself to those alone which can be practised for the most part by all faithful Christians; and I have specified the Indulgence annexed to each such prayer or work, by quoting distinctly the constitutions, briefs, or rescripts of the Sovereign Pontiffs by whom they were conceded, after having verified them with the greatest exactness. Marvel not, dear reader, that in this last edition you find not, as you have heretofore found in other editions of this collection, the historical account of the origin of certain devotions to which afterwards Indulgences were annexed... I was afraid lest, by making the Raccolta too bulky, I should prevent some from using it so frequently as they otherwise would, as very often occurs with books intended for daily use. This is the reason also why you will find that in mentioning the grant, brief, or rescript, I have left out the words 'for ever,' since, in order to obviate the necessity of this constant repetition, it is enough for you to be told once for all, that all Indulgences in the present Raccolta were granted by the goodness of Sovereign Pontiffs for ever and I have therefore contented myself with inserting these words only where such grants were once made for a certain term." (emphasis added)

Again, indulgences in the Raccolta may be technically/legally invalid, but isn't it likewise true that the Sovereign Pontiffs' desire that such indulges be granted "for ever" is worthy of at least some respect?

Important Note: To be on the 'safe side', do not neglect modern indulgences which are certainly valid both technically & legally.

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