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Does Purgatory Exist?

A Celtic Cross, Seen on Many a Headstone

Do all Catholics believe in purgatory?

No, purgatory is only a Roman Catholic belief (under the leadership of the Bishop of Rome). The rest of the Catholic world doesn’t teach it.

Here’s the real story.

Purgatory is a Roman Catholic idea that says souls need a post-mortem “cleanse” before they can enter heaven. It’s not hell. It’s not a second chance. It’s a temporary state where the soul suffers purification for the “lingering effects” of sin.

Rome, aka the Vatican, points to verses like 2 Maccabees 12 (“prayers for the dead”) and 1 Corinthians 3 (“saved, but only as through fire”) as biblical support. Over time, medieval theologians like Thomas Aquinas turned these hints into a fully developed doctrine. By the 1200s and 1500s, Rome made it official at church councils.

But, Old-Catholics rejected purgatory believing Christ’s sacrifice is enough, indeed the only way we gain salvation is through the redeeming Love and Sacrifice of Christ. There is no unfinished debt for the dead to work off. Instead, we pray for them in love, entrusting them to God’s mercy, not to a purging fire.The Old Catholic Church left the concept of purgatory behind as part of their return to the undivided tradition of the early Church.

Eastern Orthodox churches reject the concept of purgatory too. They see the afterlife as a mystery. There’s no “intermediate state of cleansing,” only the soul’s immediate encounter with God’s transforming love.

The concept and then doctrine of purgatory grew out of Western Europe’s legal mindset. It framed sin like a debt account. Sin is forgiven in confession but somehow leaves the sinner still owing penalties. The East never shared that framework.

So no, not all Catholics believe in purgatory. Rome does. The rest of us don’t. Not the Orthodox churches, the Old Catholic churches nor St. Brigit’s Community Catholic Church.

St. Brigit’s Community Catholic Church believes that God’s mercy is bigger than any debt, and that “nothing can separate us from the love of Christ,” not even death. Christ never mentioned any purgatory instead only saying things like “Your sins are forgiven you. Go and sin no more” (John 8:11 and John 5).

So, no, there is no purgatory! There is only the embrace of the One who made you, the One whose mercy is without measure. In life and in death, we belong to Christ. When your time comes, you will go home, not to a place of cleansing fire, but to the arms of Love itself.

St.Brigit's Community Catholic Church Stance on Pugatory

St. Brigid's Cross, traditionally made from rushes or straw, is an Irish symbol of protection, particularly against fire, evil, and hunger.

Let’s look at the Gospel verse "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." This verse, Romans 8:38-39, emphasizes the unwavering and unconditional nature of God's love, which is accessible through faith in Jesus Christ.

The love being referenced is specifically the love of God, which is revealed and experienced through Jesus Christ. The passage lists various potential barriers like death, life, angels, demons, and even future events, and concludes that none of these can truly separate a believer from God's love. The verse highlights that this love is experienced and accessed through a relationship with Jesus Christ. It implies that those who believe in Jesus and accept his love are assured of its permanence.

I’d like to look more closely at the phrase "Your sins are forgiven you. Go and sin no more". This is a biblical statement, often associated with Jesus's interactions with individuals who have committed sins. It signifies both forgiveness and a call to repentance, urging the individual to cease their sinful behavior.

The first part, "Your sins are forgiven you," conveys that the individual's past transgressions are pardoned by God (or, in some contexts, by a religious authority). This is a core concept in many faiths, emphasizing God's mercy and willingness to offer a fresh start.

The second part, "Go and sin no more," is a direct instruction to change one's behavior. It emphasizes that forgiveness is not a license to continue sinning but rather a motivation to turn away from wrongdoing.

“Faith without works is dead.” James 2:14 means that true faith in something, whether religious or otherwise, should be accompanied by action. Simply believing in something without taking any steps to demonstrate that belief is not a genuine or effective form of faith.

Christ is clear in His forgiveness and admonitions. When we are forgiven we are required to put actions/works into our faith. That immediate action is to not repeat the sin, or at least to legitimately try not to repeat it.

In our marriages and families we do things or fail to do things resulting in hurt to those we love. In a loving committed relationship we apologize, try to make it right and work on becoming better, not repeating the hurtful behaviour.

Sin hurts Christ (and us). We confess/apologize and rebuild the relationship but it can’t just end there. We must at least make a sincere attempt to do better. To be better.

A faith that does not cause us to change for the betterment of ourselves and those we interact with, is no true faith at all. A marriage or family where one person keeps doing hurtful things is not a loving, committed relationship. It is toxic.

Real faith involves building a real, loving, committed relationship with Christ. Like any other relationship this one requires work(s) to be real and successful.

Christ warned 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:21-23

Many non-Christians perform “good works” yet the primary work required of a Christian is to build that loving, committed relationship with Christ. To perform the Father’s works because of our love of God and our Saviour. People in toxic relationships still do good things, that doesn’t negate the toxic nature of the relationship.

So my best advice is to not even worry about the possibility of purgatory. Focus instead on making sure each of us maintains a true, non-toxic relationship with our Lord and Saviour.

Focus on that relationship now, in this life. Love God and do good because of that love of God and His will.

Make a habit of addressing any wrongdoings/sins by immediately apologizing/confessing to our Heavenly Father and Christ. Take steps to make things right and do all we each can to not commit those sins again.

Christ does not love the ‘perfect’ version of us. He loves us as we are, warts and all. We’re human. We fail, repeatedly. He forgives, repeatedly. But it is we who decide if this is a loving, committed relationship or a toxic one.

We do so by the sincerity or lack thereof in our efforts to treat God and Christ in the most loving and real ways that we can. We express our love AND we act on it. We put real effort, work(s) into our relationship with Christ.

You see, if there ever was to be a purgatory it would be our here and now. We all must die and at that moment we will each meet with Christ. I encourage everyone to make very sure He moves to embrace us rather than hearing those awful words “I know you not.”

Works Cited

Augustine. The City of God. Translated by Henry Bettenson. London: Penguin Classics, 2003.

Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997. Accessed July 16, 2025. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM

Council of Trent. Decree on Purgatory. Session 25, December 1563. Accessed July 16, 2025. https://www.ewtn.com/cathol.../library/council-of-trent-1521

Fisher, Simon. Supplication for the Beggars. London, 1529.

Gregory the Great. Dialogues. Translated by Odo John Zimmerman. Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1959.

McGrath, Alister E. Christian Theology: An Introduction. 6th ed. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2017.

New Advent. “Purgatory.” Catholic Encyclopedia. Accessed July 16, 2025. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm

Pelikan, Jaroslav. The Christian Tradition: A History of the Development of Doctrine, Volume 3: The Growth of Medieval Theology (600–1300). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978.

Schaff, Philip, ed. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I & II. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885. Accessed July 16, 2025. https://www.ccel.org/fathers.html

Tertullian. On Monogamy. Translated by S. Thelwall. In Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4. Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885.

Wycliffe, John. Tracts and Treatises. Edited by Robert Vaughan. London: Blackburn and Pardon, 1845.

Does Purgatory Exist?

St.Brigit's Community Catholic Church Stance on Pugatory

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