Purgatory is a doctrine of the Catholic Church. Therefore, as Catholics, we must believe in its existence. If a Catholic does not believe in Purgatory, then they are not Catholic anymore - they place themselves outside the One, True Church. This is true if a Catholic rejects any of the infallible approvals or condemnations that God has defined through His Church.

No one has to believe what God has revealed - we all have a free will. But if anyone wants to be Catholic, then it is simply common sense that they would have to believe the doctrines of the Catholic Church. Infallible statements cannot change because they are from God - not any one man or group of men. Truth must never change or else it cannot be truth. The Church defined infallibly a long time ago that Jesus Christ was truly God and truly man. Therefore, no one in the Church, either alone or with others, can ever teach anything contrary to this doctrine.

Not only has God used the Catholic Church to clearly define for us that Purgatory really exists, but He has also inspired numerous Saints to help and pray for the Poor Souls suffering there. For centuries, there have been many miracles and visions of Purgatory. Frequently, souls in Purgatory have left physical evidence of the reality of their suffering when they have been permitted to appear to someone on earth to beg for help.

Many people today are confused or misinformed about many things that, in the past, were clearly understood and faithfully taught. One of these areas is the mercy of God. Many people believe that, when someone makes a good confession and is given absolution by a Catholic priest, God - in His mercy - forgives the debt, along with the guilt, of sin. If this is true, then everyone who dies without any unforgiven mortal sins on their soul goes directly to Heaven at their death. This error has been a problem for the Catholic Church ever since the beginning, and this “free ride to Heaven” idea has always been condemned by the Roman Catholic Church. To presume God’s mercy is a tragic mistake to make.

God is perfect in everything, so He is as perfectly merciful as He is perfectly just. His divine justice requires that sin be atoned for. Failing to believe that God judges deceased human souls and expects reparation to have been made for their sins, leads to: 1) a lack of repentance for sins; 2) a free pass to commit sins; 3) a neglect to reform our lives, since the pursuit of virtue is no longer of necessary benefit; and 4) it blasphemes Divine Justice by denying Its very existence.

Another one of the most terrible things about people believing in these errors is that it cruelly abandons the Poor Souls in Purgatory. If we don’t believe in Purgatory, who is going to pray for them? Unfortunately, most people don’t believe in Purgatory. They think that if there is such a place, no one is there because they’re already in Heaven. Or they believe that the Poor Souls cannot be helped by anything we do. People won’t pray for them if they don’t think they’re there! The Poor Souls are then left to make atonement for their sins to the fullest measure. Some souls are sentenced to Purgatory for centuries. For more information on just how long souls can and have stayed in Purgatory, read “Time and Duration” on the Poor Souls home page. If noone prays for them to make some atonement for their sins, then they must stay there and suffer.

God desires us to know about Purgatory for two reasons. First, so as to help the Poor Souls in Purgatory and relieve their sufferings. Secondly, for our own sake as well. If we knew the significance of our deeds, the consequence for sin and the accounting we’ll make at the end of our lives, each of us would strive to follow the path of virtue, while making all the friends we could on the other side of eternity to pray for our salvation. It is a great act of mercy on God’s part. The following story told by St. Antonius is a true story which tells of what happened to man who had shown no mercy to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

In the days of St. Antonius, a Catholic had died, and many Holy Masses had been offered for the repose of his soul. The deceased appeared to the Saint and made the following revelation to him, with much grief and regret. “My brother,” he cried, “all the Masses and all the prayers that have been offered up for me have done me no good. I am in Purgatory and shall have to remain there, till I have satisfied the justice of God. I have hitherto received no relief from all that has been done for me, because when I was alive, I neglected to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. All the benefit of the prayers and Masses said for me is given to those souls for whom I should have, in a special manner, prayed for but did not do so. They are relieved instead of me, and I have to suffer. Oh pray for me that God may forgive me my neglect, and go and preach everywhere to people to pray for the souls of the faithful departed lest when they die, God may treat them as He has treated me.”