I refer to the letter by Rev. Mario Attard OFM of Sunday, 16 November. I beg to differ completely from the Catechism of the Catholic Church on its position to pray and offer sacrifices for the faithful departed. As a member of the clergy, Rev. Attard has no other option but to endorse the position of his leaders on this issue and state them as he did in the letter.
Having said that, and with all due respect, the contents of the letter by Rev. Attard need much enlightenment and correct biblical interpretation from a deeper spiritual perspective rather than a mere repetition of the Catechism and Canon of the Roman Church.
Firstly, many Christians do not think that the book of Macabees is be inspired by the Holy, as they do not hold with the Purgatory thesis. Judas Macabee in offering sacrifices for the dead, did just what he thought was good by offering sacrifices for the dead soldiers who had touched unholy objects. This is in the same context as when the Apostle Paul declared he would not marry if he was presented with the opportunity in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7 and he choose celibacy. It is just a mere opinion, not a dogma. An opinion that creates a belief and subsequently a tradition or custom is not necessarily inspired by the Holy Spirit and must be dealt with extreme caution.
Macabees is the only direct reference of offering sacrifices for the dead. Moreover, the other scriptures that Rev. Attard quoted from the New Testament do not make any direct reference to offering prayers or sacrifices for the departed and are just a wild and incorrect interpretation of same.
But what mostly catches the eye is that nowhere does Jesus mention that we should pray for the dead or offer any sacrifices for them. Jesus always spoke of Heaven and Hell only and never mentioned a half-way house called 'purgatorium'. The only 'purgatorium' is the one the Romans used to cleanse their intestines in the early days of toilet development and experimentation.
The Bible constantly harps and stresses hell in its different versions and meanings as 'Tartaro', 'Shoel' and 'Hades'. When referring to believers and the faithful departed, the Apostle Paul only mentions "Absent in the body and present with the Lord" in 2 Corinthians 5:8, while Jesus in the story of the rich man and the poor man in Luke 16:19-, speaks of the poor man, Lazarus being in Abraham's bosom, which today has been surpassed and superseded by Jesus' bosom (incidentally another misinterpretation at funeral Masses is when the soul is commended to Abraham's bosom). Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was all that was needed to satisfy God for the faithful departed to enter into His presence and there is no need for the intercession of man to offer sacrifices for the dead as an added effort for them to make it to heaven.
The doctrine on purgatory was introduced by the Roman Church after the split between the Lutherans and Catholics as a way of strengthening the Catholic belief on indulgencies and, in the process, justifying them. There is absolutely nothing in the Gospels about praying or offering sacrifices for the dead; on the contrary, the Bible always tells us that once we die, we are judged, as stated in Hebrews 9:27-28, New King James Version (NKJV): "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."
Purgatory is only a figment of the imagination invented by the Catholic Church to rip money off the people to offer Masses for their dead and to many who are promised heaven after death if they leave their properties to the Church. And if so, how many Masses are needed to relieve the suffering of the dead, and what about those who cannot pay for indulgences and Masses? What happens to them?
The Catholic Church needs to change its medieval and unhealthy archaic mentality which has left its clergy and followers in a spiritual and mental state of fake humility and infancy and made the foolish swallow these heresies on purgatory, indulgences and sacrifices to pay for the sins of the departed.
Like with many other matters, the Catholic Church needs to promote the real Bible truths, which it has chosen to ignore during the split from the rest of the Christian Churches since the early schisms. Such truths include allowing the clergy to marry (to avoid further the mess it is now in with the scandals involving the clergy with women and children) and also allow female clergy. Many women were disciples of Christ and deserve a more prominent role in the Roman Church. And what about the 'Limbo' for babies? The Roman Church has done away with this lie and hopefully it will do away with the money-making racket called Purgatory.
Of course, we should always keep the memories of our departed ones 'alive' and hold memorial services for them, as is being done to commemorate the first centenary of the start of the First World War through an ecumenical service in remembrance of the Gozitans who died during that war, which was held in Gozo this month. But never create a dogma and doctrine which is nowhere found in the verses of the Bible (both Old Testament and New Testament).
It would be wise for the learned Rev. Attard to examine the debate and discussion on certain books which are not considered as being inspired by the Holy Spirit at: http://orthodoxyinamerica.org/article.php?id=48, as well as those regarding the Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical books at http://www.gotquestions.org/apocrypha-deuterocanonical.html and what are indulgences and plenary indulgences and is the concept biblical at http://www.gotquestions.org/plenary-indulgences.html.
Thank God we are not living in the Dark Ages where biblical truths, knowledge and wisdom were held back by the many proponents of early Catholicism. Those who seek the Truth can do so freely and also promote it, as is being done by means of this letter. I therefore make a heartfelt appeal and invite readers to study and read the Bible and obey the Lord in establishing a relationship with Jesus Christ in prayer, because He speaks to us through His Holy Spirit about the Truths we should believe in.
Anthony Zarb Dimech
Birkirkara