1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Indult

INDULT (Lat. indultum, from indulgere, grant, concede, allow), a, papal licence which authorizes the doing of something not sanctioned by the common law of the church; thus by an indult the pope authorizes a bishop to grant certain relaxations during the Lenten fast according to the necessities of the situation, climate, &c., of his diocese.