This is a general reply. During the Crusade Period of the Roman Catholic Church certain church doctrines were intensified in order to gain control over all of its followers. One of which is the doctrine of "salvation through merit system." In this doctrine the concept of "purgatory" came out which was used to designate a place where the "merits" earned met the purpose. Thus, "purgatory" is just a mere creation of the church but made to be "realistic" through edicts and papal bulls, and became part of the established doctrine of the church. And because religion is part of our culture people opt to follow it without questioning its significance.
We have to recall that Martin Luther posted his oppositions to the doctrines of Catholicism through his 95 Thesis, and one of the doctrines he strongly opposed is the "salvation through merit system."
Purgatory never really exists. There might be a place for souls to receive purifications but that place is not the purgatory, in itself.
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