indultak

Indultak is the Hungarian term for indulgences, the Catholic Church’s remission of the temporal punishment due to sin. In Catholic teaching, forgiveness of the guilt of sin is granted through contrition and absolution, while indulgences remove or reduce the remaining punishment that a soul must undergo in this life or in purgatory through the Church’s treasury of merit and the merits of Christ and the saints.

Historically, indulgences developed in the Middle Ages as a means to encourage penance and support church works. They are categorized as partial indulgences, which reduce some punishment, and plenary indulgences, which aim to remove all temporal punishment under prescribed conditions. In the 16th century, abuses surrounding the sale and commercialization of indulgences contributed to Protestant critique and broader calls for reform. The Council of Trent reaffirmed the legitimate use of indulgences and established reforms to address abuses. In the post-Trent era and in modern Catholic teaching, indulgences are not purchases but the spiritual fruits of certain devotional acts, prayers, and works carried out with the proper disposition.

To obtain an indulgence, a faithful person typically must perform the prescribed act (such as a prayer, pilgrimage, or charitable work), be in a state of grace, confess sins, receive Holy Communion, and pray for the pope’s intentions, with detachment from sin. The Church distinguishes between plenary and partial indulgences and assigns specific acts and prayers eligible for each. Contemporary practice emphasizes the spiritual aims of repentance and charity, rather than financial transactions.