The Middle Ages Return!

From the 'it would be funny if it was an Onion story', I meant to refer to this a few weeks ago when I first saw this.  I kept procrastinating, and now find myself in sitting in Pacha with a few minutes to kill before a 6:30 happy hour.  Apparently, indulgences are making a comeback: For Catholics, A Door to Absolution is Reopened

Check out this awesome circular rationale:

“Why are we bringing it back?” asked Bishop Nicholas A. DiMarzio of Brooklyn, who has embraced the move. “Because there is sin in the world.”

I hadn't realized that it was actually John Paul II that brought them back (in 2000), but it is Benedict who is really opening the gate further.  I suppose this is no surprise, given Cardinal Ratzinger's rep as a conservative traditionalist, and his pre-papacy role being something akin to a 'doctrine whip '.