A History of Christian Doctrine #3 - Online Christian Library

A History of Christian Doctrine
matic movement” in Rome. “Back in Africa, Milingo
began praying for cures of ailing supplicants, and soon
hundreds were reporting miracles.” 262 Critics accused him
of promoting tribal magic instead of modern medicine,
and the Vatican ordered him to Rome for a year of rest
and psychiatric evaluation. Milingo denied that he used
charms, spells, or witch doctor’s techniques or that he
opposed modern medicine. Instead, he said that the healings
took place by the power of God. Nevertheless, in
1983 he resigned his position. 263
Despite the dramatic changes that the twentieth century
brought to Roman Catholicism, Pope John Paul II
sought to maintain a conservative stance on its distinctive
doctrines. For example, in a 1984 document entitled
Reconciliation and Penance, he attacked the idea that
Catholics can receive forgiveness “directly from God”
without going through the church. He emphasized the
importance of the sacrament of penance, which he said
Jesus instituted, and the importance of confession to a
priest in order to obtain forgiveness. 264 In 1985, the
Vatican announced that Catholics can receive a plenary
indulgence by hearing their bishop’s Christmas or Easter
blessing on radio or television if they are unable to hear
it in person. 265 According to Catholic theology, a plenary
indulgence remits the temporal penalty for all confessed
sin and is paid for by the “treasury of merits” built up by
Christ, Mary, and saints.
Ecumenical Dialogue
The twentieth century saw a considerable convergence
of thinking and practice among mainline
Protestants and mainline Catholics. Key doctrinal differ-
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