"In every system...except that of the Bible, the doctrine of a purgatory after death, and prayers for the dead, has always been found to occupy a place. Go wherever we may, in ancient or modern times, we shall find that paganism leaves hope after death for sinners..." According to the Roman Catholic Catechism, issued with episcopal authority on the occasion of the 4th Plenary Council in 1937, purgatory is "...a place or state of punishment in the next life where some souls have to suffer for a time, because they are not yet fit to go to heaven." The Roman Catholic Church teaches that purgatorial sufferings vary greatly in intensity according to the degree of sinfulness on the part of the sinner. For some the torment will be light and mild, lasting perhaps a few hours. For others, however, the pain is no less than that of hell and can last for several thousand years.