Question: Praying for the dead: where can this be found in the Bible? I don’t want any reference to the Catechism, thanks. Answer: As you allude to in your question, many of the details regarding the Church’s teaching on purgatory (and the utility and appropriateness of praying for the dead) is part of our sacred tradition, much of which is summarized in works like the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I do feel compelled to point out that the truths of our faith being legitimately “handed down” via tradition is itself a scriptural concept. For example, in the New Testament, St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians: “Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught,…