What ‘A Christmas Carol’ taught me about Purgatory

There is a doctrine in Catholicism that not all souls are prepared for heaven at death, and that some must undergo a spiritual purification in a state or location the Catholic Church calls “Purgatory.”

There are a number of biblical references that undergird the notion of Purgatory, including in the Old Testament. In 2 Maccabees 12:46, it says, “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” Souls in the eternal torment of damnation...