Angelus News | July 12, 2024 | Vol. 9 No. 14
On the cover: A PBS series recently suggested purgatory was the “invention” of 14th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri. Could it be true? Does such a place — somewhere between heaven and hell — really exist? On Page 10, contributing editor Mike Aquilina details purgatory’s biblical roots in the Old and New Testaments, all of which point to the hope and forgiveness God promises “in the age to come” to believers. On the cover: A PBS series recently suggested purgatory was the “invention” of 14th-century Italian poet Dante Alighieri. Could it be true? Does such a place — somewhere between heaven and hell — really exist? On Page 10, contributing editor Mike Aquilina details purgatory’s biblical roots in the Old and New Testaments, all of which point to the hope and forgiveness God promises “in the age to come” to believers.
Purgatory and the poet “Dante Alighieri with Florence and the Realms of the Divine Comedy (hell, purgatory, paradise),” by Domenico di Michelino, 1417-1491, Italian. | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Did Dante invent the afterlife? Or just describe it? BY MIKE AQUILINA He spoke as a patriot, proud of his countryman, and in his enthusiasm Riccardo Bruscagli made bold claims. “The realm of Purgatory is really Dante’s invention — from a theological, moral, psychological, and even topographical point of view … Purgatory really was not a very well defined place before Dante got his hands on it.” Bruscagli is emeritus professor of literature at the University of Florence, and he was speaking on camera in a four-hour documentary recently broadcast on PBS: “DANTE: Inferno to Paradise.” Given time to draft a statement, he might have qualified or modified his claims. But the cameras were rolling, and Dante is a poet whose singularity invites exaggeration. Professor Bruscagli eagerly accepted the invitation. His claim is forgivable, but historically false, and since it touches upon Christian doctrine — and was broadcast widely — it merits attention and the correction the professor himself might 10 • ANGELUS • July 12, 2024
apply in a recollected moment. • • • Purgatory has always been part of biblical religion. Even before the rise of Christianity, it was implicit in the sacred texts and practices of the Jews. Scholars identify purgatory with Sheol, the abode of the dead, which is mentioned more than 60 times in the Old Testament. Sheol is clearly not hell. It is populated by Israel’s heroes as well as its questionable characters. Job asks to be sent there for “a set time” until God’s “wrath be past” (Job 14:13). It is possible to be sent to Sheol “in sorrow” (Genesis 44:29). It is also possible to “go down to Sheol in peace” (1 Kings 2:6). In Scripture, Sheol is imagined vaguely as a place underground, where disembodied souls persist as “shades” (Isaiah 14:9). The condition of the dead in Sheol can be improved by the sacrificial prayers of the living. In the Second Book of Maccabees, written around a hundred years before the time of Christ, the general Judas Maccabeus learns after battle that some of the Jewish casualties had been found with superstitious amulets. Intending to remedy the sin, he “took up a collection” from his living soldiers and “sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering.” The chronicler of the battle then adds Text of El Malei Rachamim (“Merciful God”) on a tombstone at Powązki Jewish cemetery in Warsaw, Poland. | WIKIMEDIA COMMONS a personal judgment: “In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin” (2 Maccabees 12:43–45). The Jewish practice of praying for the dead has endured through history and continues today in prayers such as El Malei Rachamim (Hebrew for “Merciful God”), which begs mercy for the departed soul and a “resting place … in the Garden of Eden.” • • • With the New Testament the fate of the dead becomes clearer. Sheol is shown to be an intermediate state between bodily life on earth and eternal life in heaven. It is temporary, for judgment and purification. The Book of Revelation makes clear that “nothing unclean shall enter” heaven (21:27). Yet we know from St. Paul that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). How, then, will those who have sinned get through the gates? Paul describes the process by which the souls of the dead are prepared for heaven. “Each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:13–15). So there is a purification after death. Fire is the best metaphor Paul can find for the operation. It burns up what is useless and proves and preserves what is everlasting. Jesus speaks of a forgiveness God extends “in the age to come” (Matthew 12:32), and Paul explains how God does it. The devotional life of the early Church reflects this belief. Many of the Fathers refer to prayers for the dead and July 12, 2024 • ANGELUS • 11
- Page 1 and 2: ANGELUS SAVING PURGATORY Is it real
- Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Pope Watch................
- Page 5 and 6: NEW WORLD OF FAITH ARCHBISHOP JOS
- Page 7 and 8: NATION ■ Let Rupnik’s art be, V
- Page 9 and 10: V IN OTHER WORDS... Letters to the
- Page 14 and 15: Altar artwork depicting purgatory i
- Page 16 and 17: Kathleen Anderson sits inside St. C
- Page 18 and 19: LA Archdiocese parish leadership as
- Page 20 and 21: Hundreds of parishioners walked wit
- Page 22 and 23: Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the
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- Page 26 and 27: AD REM ROBERT BRENNAN America’s
- Page 28 and 29: NOW PLAYING INSIDE OUT 2 WHEN ANXI
- Page 30 and 31: Promotional image for the final sea
- Page 32 and 33: DESIRE LINES HEATHER KING A playwr
- Page 34 and 35: LETTER AND SPIRIT SCOTT HAHN Scott
Purgatory and the poet<br />
“Dante Alighieri with<br />
Florence and the Realms<br />
of the Divine Comedy<br />
(hell, purgatory, paradise),”<br />
by Domenico di<br />
Michelino, <strong>14</strong>17-<strong>14</strong>91,<br />
Italian. | WIKIMEDIA<br />
COMMONS<br />
Did Dante invent the afterlife? Or just describe it?<br />
BY MIKE AQUILINA<br />
He spoke as a patriot, proud of his<br />
countryman, and in his enthusiasm<br />
Riccardo Bruscagli made<br />
bold claims.<br />
“The realm of Purgatory is really<br />
Dante’s invention — from a theological,<br />
moral, psychological, and even topographical<br />
point of view … Purgatory<br />
really was not a very well defined place<br />
before Dante got his hands on it.”<br />
Bruscagli is emeritus professor of<br />
literature at the University of Florence,<br />
and he was speaking on camera in<br />
a four-hour documentary recently<br />
broadcast on PBS: “DANTE: Inferno to<br />
Paradise.”<br />
Given time to draft a statement, he<br />
might have qualified or modified his<br />
claims. But the cameras were rolling,<br />
and Dante is a poet whose singularity<br />
invites exaggeration. Professor Bruscagli<br />
eagerly accepted the invitation.<br />
His claim is forgivable, but historically<br />
false, and since it touches upon Christian<br />
doctrine — and was broadcast<br />
widely — it merits attention and the<br />
correction the professor himself might<br />
10 • ANGELUS • <strong>July</strong> <strong>12</strong>, <strong>2024</strong>
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