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__NOTOC__{{Infobox_Contents |topic_name ==Synopsis== Pugatory is a belief that is unique to the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Other [[Christian]] [[denomination]]s reject the concept. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that purgatory is a place or state of punishment or purification that occurs after death for Christians before they can enter [[heaven]]. It is not [[hell]], because hell is a permanent state - eternal separation from God. Purgatory is only a temporary state, and once purified, the Christian enters heaven.|subtopics ==Contents== {{topics}}* [[Heaven]] | , [[Hell]] | , [[Afterlife]] | , [[Death]]
* [[Prayer for the dead]]
* [[Roman Catholic Doctrine]]| opinion_pieces = {{opinionsshort_opinions}}* [[The problems Problems with Purgatory, prayers for the dead and indulgences (G.G.)]]* [[The Case for Purgatory (AmericanCatholic)]] |{{quotes}} ==Main article==
Pugatory is a belief that is unique to the [[Roman Catholic Church]]. Other [[Christian]] [[denomination]]s reject the concept. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that purgatory is a place or state of punishment or purification that occurs after death for Christians before they can enter [[heaven]]. It is not [[hell]], because hell is a permanent state - eternal separation from God. Purgatory is only a temporary state, and once purified, the Christian enters heaven.
Catholics affirm that [[God]] metes out temporal punishment even to believers (see, for example, [[Numbers 20]]:11-12). They also believe that sins are forgiven if and only if they are repented of ([[Isaiah 55:7]], [[Luke 17]]:3-4). Catholics do not treat [[sin]] as a collective entity that one can dispose of in whole; if one repents of one sin but not of another, then one is not fully repentant and thus not fully forgiven. Since God cannot behold evil ([[Habbakuk 1:13]]), Catholics claim it follows that one must be fully repentant of all sins before entering [[heaven]]. Since it is unlikely that one will be able to fully repent of all sins in this life, they argue, purgatory is offered as a place to do that, instead of eternal damnation.
==Quotes==
[[C.S. Lewis]], Letters To Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, chapter 20, paragraphs 7-10, pages 108-109
:Our souls demand Purgatory, don't they? Would it not break the heart if God said to us, 'It is true, my son, that your breath smells and your rags drip with mud and slime, but we are charitable here and no one will upbraid you with these things, nor draw away from you. Enter into the joy'? Should we not reply, 'With submission, sir, and if there is no objection, I'd rather be cleaned first.' 'It may hurt, you know' - 'Even so, sir.'
==Links==
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm The Catholic Encyclopedia - Purgatory]
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purgatory Wikipedia - Purgatory]
{{returnto}} [[Roman Catholic Doctrine]] | [[Afterlife]]
[[Category:Catholic Church]]
