A problem with Purgatory: How could Jesus say what he did to the repentant criminal on a cross next to him if Purgatory existed?

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The Catholic Church teaches ways by which we are freed from the temporal consequence of our sin, and thereby eliminate our need of Purgatory.

One is the Sacrament of Baptism:

By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well as all punishment for sin. In those who have been reborn nothing remains that would impede their entry into the Kingdom of God, neither Adam's sin, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God. (CCC 1263)

Another is God's sovereignty over even that which he binds on Earth:

The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the Spirit." God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments. (CCC 1257)

The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament. (CCC 1258)

For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament. (CCC 1259)

Considering that last paragraph, hear the criminal's words of...

Desire:

Jesus Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

Repentance:

We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve.

Charity (to love, to seek the good of our neighbor):

Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? ...this man has done nothing wrong.

So, if one grants the premise of the question that the criminal received the beatific vision immediately upon death, the logical answer is that the criminal received a baptism of desire.

That's not to say that Jesus followed some intricate theological doctrine called baptism of desire to justify pardoning the criminal of the consequence of his sin. As noted above, the Catholic Church teaches that God's sovereignty is absolute. To quote Bishop Barron, What God says, is.

How can we make sense of it? It has everything to do with who Jesus is. If he were simply an ordinary human being, his words would have, at best, a symbolic resonance. But Jesus is God, and what God says, is. (Daily Gospel Reflection, Mark 14:12–16, 22–26)

For example...

Let there be light

...and there was light.

This is my body

...and that is his body.

Today you will be with me in paradise.

...and they were together that day in paradise.

The concept of baptism of desire is, I think, our human way of understanding a part of the mystery of salvation.

For more info see the Catholic Answers article here.

qxn 504

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From the Catholic POV, one can't assume "paradise" is the beatific vision (what most would call "Heaven"). The Catholic Church teaches that, after physical death, Christ descended into hell:

By the expression "He descended into hell", the Apostles' Creed confesses that Jesus did really die and through his death for us conquered death and the devil "who has the power of death" (Heb 2:14). (CCC 636)

(A note here that "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - refers to the abode of the blessed dead, possibly "Abraham's bosom," and not to eternal damnation.)

The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead" presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there. (CCC 632)

The last sentence references Peter:

For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit. In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison. (1 Peter 3:18-19)

So, to answer the question "why did Jesus say 'paradise'?" the Church could answer that he was describing his presence in "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek. Regardless of the physical location of the criminal on the cross, if Jesus was also physically with him, he was in "paradise."

As further evidence that "paradise" could be anywhere Jesus is, consider these:

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth. (Philippians 2:10)

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, everything in the universe, cry out: “To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.” (Rev 5:13)

qxn 504

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Here's an answer I didn't expect.

The Blessed Virgin prayed for St. Dismas' conversion, his soul was softend, he repented of his sin, proclaimed his belief in Jesus and was saved that very day.

The sudden change and conversion, for Dismas from a sinner, became a penitent and Saint, has been rightly attributed to the prayers of our Blessed Lady

https://anastpaul.com/2021/03/25/saint-of-the-day-25-march-saint-dismas-the-good-thief/

There's a legend associated with St. Dismas and the early life of Jesus that might suffer from incredulity. But owing to the the fact that Our Lady and Our Lord were present. It's plausible that through her the intercession he truly repented in a way not recorded in the Gospel.

That repentance could be afforded to him as Baptism, which, as it true of any other believer, if they're hit by bus on the way out of Church on Easter, their soul goes straight to heaven.