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Purgatory is no longer an official teaching of the Catholic church. I have heard that it never was, but I'm not sure which is the correct version. From what I do know, the concept of purgatory came about as an answer to the question, "What if I'm neither good, nor bad where do I go?" Hey, you're going to purgatory...a kind of netherworldish waiting room where you wait for your sins to be forgiven. The custom of selling indulgences, buying your or a loved one's way out of purgatory, started from this belief. Indulgences were a way for the corrupt clergy in the Middle Ages, (and I don't think it will offend anyone to say that a lot of the clergy were corrupt...drawn to the church for monetary rather than theological reasons).
That said, I can tell you what I've been told, and what I personally believe: if we really believe in a loving God who loves his children, do we really think that he would allow an innocent not to come home to him?
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