Pope Quotes

• It often happens that I wake up at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope.

  Pope John XXIII

  Funny, Humor, Night

  Quoted in Forbes, 14 May 1990

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• The Pope and God are the same, so he has all power in Heaven and earth.

  Pope Pius V

  Heaven, Earth, Harlots

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• Pope Gelasius in his ninth letter (chap. 26) to the bishops of Lucania condemned the evil practice which had been introduced of women serving the priest at the celebration of Mass. Since this abuse had spread to the Greeks, Innocent IV strictly forbade it in his letter to the bishop of Tusculum: 'Women should not dare to serve at the altar; they should be altogether refused this ministry.' We too have forbidden this practice in the same words.

  Pope Benedict XIV

  Powerful, Practice, Evil

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• I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they do no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power...power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

  Lord Acton

  Kings, Power, Men

  Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton, 3 April 1887, in Louise Creighton 'Life and Letters of Mandell Creighton' (1904) vol. 1, ch. 13.

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• God has set popes over kings and kingdoms.

  Pope Boniface VIII

  Kings, Kingdoms

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• Every cleric must obey the Pope, even if he commands what is evil; for no one may judge the Pope.

  Pope Innocent III

  Judging, Evil, May

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• At the first meeting I had with the (Italian) bishops in May 2013, one of the three things I said was: with the Italian government you're on your own. Because the pope is for everybody and he can't insert himself in the specific internal politics of a country. This is not the role of the pope, right?

  Pope Francis

  Country, Italian, Government

  "Full text of Pope Francis' in-flight interview from Mexico to Rome". www.catholicnewsagency.com. February 18, 2016.

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• Whereof it followeth Rome to be the seat of antichrist, and the pope to be very antichrist himself. I could prove the same by many other scriptures, old writers, and strong reasons.

  Thomas Cranmer

  Strong, Rome, Scripture

  Thomas Cranmer (1846). “Miscellaneous Writings and Letters of Thomas Cranmer”, p.63

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• The Pope? How many divisions has he got?

  Joseph Stalin

  Atheism, Division, Positive Atheism

  Quoted in Winston S. Churchill, The Gathering Storm (1948)

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• A Roman Catholic worships a god who speaks through the Pope, while a Baptist worships a god who does not. They cannot be worshipping the same god.

  Judith Hayes

  Fear, Catholic, Atheism

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• Ambition begat simony; simony begat the pope and his brethren, about the time of the Babylonish captivity

  Martin Luther

  Ambition, Captivity, Brethren

  Martin Luther, Alexander Chalmers (1857). “The Table Talk of Martin Luther”, p.220

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• Even if [the Pope an incarnate devil], we ought not to raise up our heads against him, but calmly lie down to rest on his bosom... He who rebels against our Father is condemned to death, for that which we do to him we do to Christ: we honor Christ if we honor the Pope; we dishonor Christ if we dishonor the Pope.

  St. Catherine of Siena

  Father, Lying, Honor

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• I have as much authority as the Pope, I just don't have as many people who believe it.

  George Carlin

  Funny, Witty, Atheist

  George Carlin (2007). “The Best of Brain Droppings”, p.52, Peter Pauper Press, Inc.

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• It is necessary to salvation that all Christians be subject to the pope.

  Pope Boniface VIII

  Christian, Salvation, Subjects

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• The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but the Pope has the duty, in Christ's name, to remind the rich to help the poor, to respect them, to promote them.

  Pope Francis

  Names, Helping, Rich

  Pope Francis, The Word Among Us (2013). “Pope Francis Speaks to Our Hearts: Words of Challenge and Hope”, p.75, The Word Among Us Press

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• I am more afraid of my own heart than of the pope and all his cardinals. I have within me the great pope, Self.

  Martin Luther

  Integrity, Heart, Self

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• The big bankers of the world, who practise the terrorism of money, are more powerful than kings and field marshals, even more than the Pope of Rome himself. They never dirty their hands. They kill no-one: they limit themselves to applauding the show.

  Eduardo Galeano

  Kings, Powerful, Dirty

  "Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor". Book by Paul Farmer, p. 10, 2005.

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• The Pope doesn't believe in God; Did you ever see a conjurer who believed in Magic ?

  Coluche

  Believe, Magic, Believe In God

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• Great thieves go Scott-free, as the Pope and his crew.

  Martin Luther

  Thieves, Crew

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• After the devil himself, there is no worse folk than the pope and his followers.

  Martin Luther

  Devil, Followers, Folks

  "Luther's Works, Volume 41:Church and Ministry III" by Helmut T. Lehman, edited by Eric W. Gritsch, Augsburg Fortress Press, (p. 279), 1966.

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• Anyone who wants to be pope doesn't care much for themselves, God doesn't bless them. I didn't want to be pope.

  Pope Francis

  Care, Want, Bless

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• I don't know about being a Catholic anymore, though I had a great romance with the Church. But its male hierarchy causes me pain and distress. So I can't really pay too much attention. When that encyclical from the Pope - the one about contraception - began 'Dear Sons and Brothers' I figured it must be private mail and had nothing to do with me. So I didn't read it.

  Joan Hackett

  Brother, Pain, Son

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• Romanists tell us that the Pope is the vicar of Christ; that he is his successor as the universal head and ruler of the Church on earth. If this is so, he must be a Christ.

  Charles Hodge

  Church, Earth, Christ

  Charles Hodge (1855). “What is Presbyterianism?: An Address Delivered Before the Presbyterian Historical Society at Their Anniversary Meeting in Philadelphia, on Tuesday Evening, May 1, 1855”, p.50

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• On Easter, the Pope asked for peace in the Middle East. There are two groups the Pope has to contend with - Jewish people and Muslims. They couldn't wait to hear his suggestions.

  Conan O'Brien

  Easter, Two, People

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• John Paul was the first modern pope to grow up in a secular culture: He attended public schools, danced with girls - indeed, as a teenager he had a crush on a beautiful Jewish girl who fled his hometown just ahead of the arrival of the Germans.

  Carl Bernstein

  Beautiful, Crush, Girl

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