Today is the Feast of All Souls, in which we remember those who have died and are currently in purgatory. In honor of this feast day, I have posted a new article on my website in which I defend, using both Scripture and reason, the Catholic doctrine of purgatory:

Removing Our Sinful Natures: The Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory ^[1]

Purgatory is one of those subjects, like economics, about which nearly everyone has an opinion but few have in-depth knowledge. Protestants point to it as an example of a pernicious “tradition of men” which Christ wisely condemned. Orthodox Christians, who accept the possibility of an interim state between this life and heaven, are uncomfortable with many traditional depictions of purgatory as well as associated doctrines such as indulgences. And many Catholics today treat purgatory like a persistent rash they cannot get rid of: it comes to their attention now and then, but is better left hidden from public view.

However, the doctrine of purgatory has a long and valued history within the Catholic Church and it would be unfaithful to our predecessors in the faith to ignore or minimize it. So our first necessity is a clear definition of what the Church teaches regarding purgatory. Given all the images and ideas among the faithful about this belief, it may be surprising that the Church’s teaching is actually very limited.

Read the whole thing here ^[1].