popes

"This same norm of Apostolic doctrine is firmly maintained by his (Peter's) successors, of him to whom the Lord entrusted the care of the entire flock of sheep, to whom He promised not to leave him until the end of time."

"God forgive you! What have you done?"

"His own sanctity of life, severity of morals, and aversion to luxury made more resplendent his virtues and talents."

"A man of a spirit most pure and blameless. It was however remarked, half jestingly, that as he had come into the world too early — at seven months — and had pot been reared without difficulty, so there was upon the whole too little of the earthly element in his composition. Of the practices and intrigues of the Curia, he had never been able to comprehend anything."

"All the lands of the West have their eyes directed toward our humility; by them we are considered as a God upon earth."

"We believe that it has been brought about by a special dispensation of Divine Providence, that the Frankish Princes should profess the orthodox faith; like the Roman Emperors, in order that they may help this city, whence it took its rise. Persuade them with all earnestness to keep from any friendship and alliance with our most unspeakable enemies, the Lombards."

"...We teach and define that it is a dogma divinely revealed that the Roman pontiff when he speaks ex cathedra, that is when in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, by the Divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer willed that his Church should be endowed in defining doctrine regarding faith or morals, and that therefore such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, irreformable."

"Despite what many think, the Vatican may not impose teachings on an unwilling faithful. Through the concept of reception, Catholics have a role to play in the establishment of church law. The popular notion that whatever the pope says on a serious topic is infallible is an exaggeration of the principle of infallibility. While some ultra-conservative groups claim that the teaching on abortion is infallible, it does not in fact meet the definition of an infallible teaching. Since the doctrine of papal infallibility was first declared in 1870, only three teachings have been declared infallible: the Immaculate Conception of Mary, the Assumption of Mary, and the declaration on infallibility itself."

"The second means by which Catholics may know that a Church teaching is infallible is by examining the ordinary magisterium. This is the usual, day to day expression of the Church's infallibility. The Canon of St. Vincent of Lorenz declares that any doctrine that has been taught semper ubique obomnibus always, everywhere, and by everyone makes it part of the ordinary and universal Magisterial teaching."

"60 Q. When was it defined that the Pope is infallible?"

"61 Q. In defining that the Pope is infallible, has the Church put forward a new truth of faith?"

"59 Q.Why has God granted to the Pope the gift of infallibility?"

"When declaring the infallibility of the pope, the Vatican Council did not have in mind a situation in which, his papal prerogative acknowledged, the faithful might have a wider field of thought and action in religious matters; rather the infallibility was declared in order to provide against the special evils of our times, of license which is confounded with liberty, and the habit of thinking, saying, and printing everything regardless of truth. It was not intended to hamper real serious study or research, or to conflict with any well-ascertained truth, but only to use the authority and wisdom of the Church more effectually in protecting men against error."

"I was perversely delighted to see the Catholic Church and the Vatican go after nuns because I think they made a major error. People are quite clear in viewing nuns as the servants and the teachers and the supporters of the poor. You contrast that with the fact that the Vatican did virtually nothing about long-known pedophiles, and it’s just too much. Their stance on abortion is also quite dishonest historically, because as the Jesuits (who always seem to be more honest historians of the Catholic Church) point out, the Church approved of and even regulated abortion well into the mid-1800s. The whole question of ensoulment was determined by the date of baptism. But after the Napoleonic Wars there weren’t enough soldiers anymore and the French were quite sophisticated about contraception. So Napoleon III prevailed on Pope Pius IX to declare abortion a mortal sin, in return for which Pope Pius IX got all the teaching positions in the French schools and support for the doctrine of papal infallibility. … My favorite line belongs to an old Irish woman taxi driver in Boston. Flo Kennedy and I were in the backseat talking about Flo’s book, Abortion Rap (1971), and the driver turned around and said, “Honey, if men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament.” I wish I’d gotten her name so we could attribute it to her."

"The monarchic and infallible papacy is, however, I many ways a modern development. To take one example, for most of the history of the church, bishops were either elected by the priests of the local cathedral or appointed by the secular ruler. It was not until 1917 that official church law decreed that all bishops were to be appointed by the pope. Papal infallibility was a disputed issue up until it was officially declared by the first Vatican Council (1869-1870). Prior to that declaration, there was a strong and continuing claim that Church Councils were the supreme authority on matters of policy. The high point of “concilarism” occurred at the crucial Council of Constance (1414-1418), which resolved the scandal of three rival popes. The Council clearly asserted its authority in a famous decree Haec Sancta: The holy synod of Constance, constituting a general council…does hereby ordain, ratify, decree and declare … that any person of whatever rank, or dignity, even a pope who contumaciously refuses to obey the mandate, statutes, ordinances and regulations enacted by this holy synod or any other general council … shall be subject to condign penalty and duly punished. From the time of Constance to the first Vatican Council there was a continuing ideological struggle about authority: pope or council. It would seem that Vatican I settled the issue. Pius IX’s comment, Lo sono la tradizione, io sono la Chisea. (“I am the tradition, I am the Church”), seems to sum up the present situation of papal authority."

"I am disturbed about Roman Catholicism. This church stands before the world with its pomp and power, insisting that it possesses the only truth. It incorporates an arrogance that becomes a dangerous spiritual arrogance. It stands with its noble Pope who somehow rises to the miraculous heights of infallibility when he speaks ex cathedra. But I am disturbed about a person or an institution that claims infallibility in this world. I am disturbed about any church that refuses to cooperate with other churches under the pretense that it is the only true church. I must emphasize the fact that God is not a Roman Catholic, and that the boundless sweep of his revelation cannot be limited to the Vatican. Roman Catholicism must do a great deal to mend its ways."

"It has never been permitted, nor will it ever be permitted, for a particular synod to be convened to judge a general council. **from the letter Relegentes autem, 447."

"Heinrich Denzinger, Enchiridion Symbolorum, bilingual edition edited by Peter Hünermann, Italian version edited by Angelo Lanzoni and Giovanni Zaccherini, Edb, 2001."

"Among these [councils] I wish above all to follow and imitate the one whom we know to have been the author of the Council of Chalcedon, and who, in accordance with his name, clearly showed himself to be a member of that lion [Pope Leo I] who came forth from the tribe of Judah, with his lively zeal and faith. (from the encyclical letter Vas electionis, 444)"

"Leo I approached the Vandal [Genseric] with the same composure and majesty with which he had approached Attila a few years earlier. His mediation was not as successful, but once again he managed to avoid the worst."

"Saint Leo the Great (like other Fathers of the Church) goes so far as to call the two holy Apostles, with a wonderful image, the eyes of the mystical body, of which Christ is the head (Serm. LXXXII, chap. 7 – Migne, P. L., t. 54, col. 427). Bright and splendid eyes, paternal and merciful eyes, kind and watchful eyes, eyes that follow our spiritual journey, eyes that look down to encourage and animate, and up to intercede and implore grace for those who are still weary from the dangerous and harsh storm of life."

"Because Satan knows that he seduced the first man through a woman and led all human beings away from the bliss of paradise thanks to the credulity of women, he continues to pursue your sex with even greater cunning."

"Among these [coubcils], I wish above all to follow and imitate the one whom we know to have been the author of the Council of Chalcedon, and who, in accordance with his name, clearly showed himself to be a member of that lion [Pope Leo I] who came forth from the tribe of Judah, with his lively solicitude and faith."

"(to General Étienne Radet during the pope's arrest on the orders of Napolean Bonaparte) Assuredly, my son, those orders will not bring divine orders upon you."

"Nous voulons bien aller jusqu'aux portes de l'enfer; mais nous entendons neus arrêter là."

"The Pope [Pius VII] is a good man, but ignorant and fanatical."

"Lumen in Cælo."

"Sint licet assumpti juvenes ad pontificatum, Petri annos potuit nemo videre tamen."

"On n’a point pour la mort de dispense de Rome."

"There is no authority to declare or consider an elected and generally accepted Pope as an invalid Pope. The constant practice of the Church makes it evident that even in the case of an invalid election this invalid election will be de facto healed through the general acceptance of the new elected by the overwhelming majority of the cardinals and bishops."

"Interviewer: In the case of heresy, just as a heretical Christian ceases to be a member of the Church, does the pope also cease to be pope and head of the ecclesial body, and lose all jurisdiction? Mgr. Bux: Yes, heresy undermines faith and membership in the Church, which are the root and foundation of jurisdiction. This is the thinking of the Church Fathers, especially of Cyprian, who had to deal with Novatian, antipope during the pontificate of Pope Cornelius (cf. “'Lib. 4, ep. 2”'). Every believer, including the pope, separates himself from the unity of the Church through heresy. It is well known that the pope is at the same time a member and part of the Church, because the hierarchy is within and not above the Church, as stated in Lumen Gentium (n. 18)."

"To teach contrary to the apostolic faith would automatically deprive the pope of his office. We must all pray and work courageously to spare the Church such an ordeal."

"In 1054, the and the pope excommunicated each other. That was the end of holiness for both churches. After that, they became instruments of Satan. I'm convinced of it."

"Nemo impetrare potest a Papa bullam nunquam moriendi."

"John... Bishop Speyer, Otger, he ordered to be seized and whipped, and held, though with difficulty, for some time with him, then he soon set him free, in the hope of obtaining the emperor's forgiveness, but in this hope he was deceived by God's command, for on the second ides of May he departed from earthly life."

"C.E.964, Emperor ... at the request of popes] returned the hostages to the Romans. These, however, who were ungrateful for such favours, admitted, when the emperor was still not far from the city, John, also called Octavian, into the city, and without fear violated their allegiance to the emperor and the pope. Pope Leo, on the other hand, barely escaped, destitute of all means, and accompanied only by a few, marched to the emperor."

"Tot articula quot miracula."

"Mann, Horace K. (C.E.1910). The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages, Vol. IV: The Popes in the Days of Feudal Anarchy, 891-999."

"Luttwak, Edward (C.E.2009). The Grand Strategy of the Byzantine Empire. Harvard University Press."

"Norwich, John Julius (C.E.2011). The Popes: A History"

"DeCormenin, Louis Marie; Gihon, James L (C.E.1857). A Complete History of the Popes of Rome, from Saint Peter, the First Bishop to Pius the Ninth."

"Gregorovius, Ferdinand (C.E.1895). The History of Rome in the Middle Ages, Vol. III. G. Bell & sons. Retrieved September 8, C.E.2018."

"John XII's debauched life prompted the emperor to travel again to Rome, where at the synod of December 6, 963, the pope was solemnly anathematized and deprived of all rights."

"Pope John XII was the most depraved bishop ever to head the Church; His conduct was in complete contradiction to the principles of Christian ethics. He was hypocritical, cruel and thoughtless - he was the embodiment of the papal "pornocracy" of the first half of the tenth century. His insatiable lasciviousness eventually led him to a miserable downfall."

"During these repressions, John XII died suddenly. He was found dead in the home of one of his mistresses. According to the medieval historian Liutprand, the pope was murdered by Satan. Modern church historians believe that the hand of one of the betrayed men was enough."

"(About the Summa Theologiae of Thomas Aquinas) There are as many articles as there are miracles"

"C.E.962, The King celebrated Christmas in Pavia; From thence he proceeded, was profitably received at Rome, and in the presence of all the Roman people and clergy was appointed by Pope John, son of Alberic, and appointed emperor and augustus. The Pope kept him with great cordiality and promised not to fall away from him during his life}}."

"The twenty-year-old son of Alberic II, Octavian, after his election, took the name John. A debauched young man, eager for fun and adventure, he exchanged the Lateran, the papal palace, for a house of trysts."

"Chamberlin, Russell (C.E.2003). The Bad Popes. Sutton Publishing. pp. 955–963."

"Communism teaches and seeks two objectives: Unrelenting class warfare and absolute extermination of private ownership. Not secretly or by hidden methods does it do this, but publicly, openly, and by employing every and all means, even the most violent. To achieve these objectives there is nothing which it does not dare, nothing for which it has respect or reverence; and when it has come to power, it is incredible and portentlike in its cruelty and inhumanity. The horrible slaughter and destruction through which it has laid waste vast regions of eastern Europe and Asia are the evidence; how much an enemy and how openly hostile it is to Holy Church and to God Himself is, alas, too well proved by facts and fully known to all. Although We, therefore, deem it superfluous to warn upright and faithful children of the Church regarding the impious and iniquitous character of Communism, yet We cannot without deep sorrow contemplate the heedlessness of those who apparently make light of these impending dangers, and with sluggish inertia allow the widespread propagation of doctrine which seeks by violence and slaughter to destroy society altogether. All the more gravely to be condemned is the folly of those who neglect to remove or change the conditions that inflame the minds of peoples, and pave the way for the overthrow and destruction of society."