Indulgence

Sin has two consequences: guilt, which Confession removes, and a lingering disorder — the “temporal punishment” — that must be purified either here or in purgatory. An indulgence is the Church's remission of that temporal punishment, drawn from the treasury of merits of Christ and the saints, and granted for certain prayers and works done in a state of grace with the right disposition. It may be partial or plenary, and may be applied to the dead. The Catechism grounds it in the communion of saints. The abuses that provoked the Reformation included trafficking in indulgences, which the Council of Trent condemned.