-- Pope John Paul II - ("The Role of the Priest in the Parish Community" - - Our Sunday Visitor’s The Pope Speaks May/June 2003 pp. 156, 159)

"For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them." (Matt. 18:20)

"For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus." (1Timothy 2:5)

"May Mary, Virgin and Mother obtain for the Church, which also is hailed as virgin and mother, to rejoice always, though with due humility, in the faithfulness of her priests to the sublime gift of holy virginity they have received."

-- Pope Paul VI (1963-1978)  "Encyclical on the Celibacy of the Priest." June 24, 1967

"A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife." (1Timothy 3:2)

"Turn in spirit with ever greater confidence to the Virgin Mother of God, the constant refuge of Christians in adversity, since she has been made a source of salvation for the human race."

"In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God." (Ps. 62:7)

"The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger." (Jer. 7:18)

"The sacred books, which were published by their adherents… and quickly spreading them by the newly invented art of printing. Therefore in the rules written by the fathers chosen by the Council of Trent… and placed in the Index of forbidden books, we read the statute declaring that vernacular Bibles are forbidden… We emphatically exhort you to announce these Our commands to the people… and strive mightily to keep the faithful sheep away from the Christian League and other biblical societies, as well as away from their followers. Also take from the faithful …the vernacular Bibles which have been published contrary to the sanctions of the Roman Pontiffs"       

-- Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) Encyclical of Pope Gregory XVI on Biblical Societies."May 8, 1844

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:105)

"A sower went out to sow his seed… Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God." (Luke 8:5, 11)

"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it." (Joshua 1:8)

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." (Romans 1:18)

"You have noticed a society, commonly called the Bible society, boldly spreading throughout the whole world…it works by every means to have the holy Bible translated… into the ordinary languages of every nation. There are good reasons for fear that they will produce a gospel of men, or what is worse, a gospel of the devil!… In virtue of Our apostolic office, We too exhort you to try every means of keeping your flock from those deadly pastures. Do everything possible to see that the faithful observe strictly the rules of our Congregation of the Index. Convince them that to allow holy Bibles in the ordinary language, wholesale and without distinction, would on account of human rashness cause more harm than good." 

-- Pope Leo XII (1823-1829)  "Ubi Primum" Encyclical of Pope Leo XII on his assuming the pontificate May 1824

"But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you.’" (Matthew 20:25-26)

"Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-- ‘Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle.’" (Colossians 2:20-21)

"For the same reason you should undoubtedly always give special attention to the beauty of the house of God and the splendor and dignity of objects dedicated to the divine service. Such beauty and splendor often greatly inspire the faithful, and draw them to the veneration of sacred realities. It would be very improper for the bishop's house to be cleaner and furnished more tastefully than the abode of holiness, the palace of the living God"  -- Pope Pius VI (1775-1799)  "Encyclical of Pope Pius VI On the problems of the pontificate"  December 25, 1775.

"God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands." (Acts 17:24)

"One is the body of the church, whose head is Christ, and all cohere in it. We vicariously administer His power and preside over others by His will. You and We are the more prominent members of the same body." 

-- Pope Clement XIV (1769-1774)  "Cum Summi Encyclical of Pope Clement XIV" December 1769

"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1Peter 2:9)

"As We are in a certain manner intermediaries between God and mankind, We offer to God the prayers of the people, and in the same way We communicate the will of God to them… In the Last Judgment We shall be called to give account on behalf of everybody and before everybody who is reckoned in the name of Christ." 

--Pope Clement XIII (1758-1769)        "On Unity Among Christians; Quo Die Encyclical of Pope Clement XIII September 13, 1758.

"So then each of us shall give account of himself to God." (Romans 14:12)

"And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13)

"Innocent III, after saying that Jews were being received by Christians into their cities, warns that the method and condition of this reception should guard against their repaying the benefit with evildoing. ‘They on being admitted to our acquaintance in a spirit of mercy, repay us, the popular proverb says, as the mouse in the wallet, the snake in the lap and fire in the bosom usually repay their host.’ The same Pope stated that it was fitting for Jews to serve Christians rather than vice versa and added: ‘Let not the sons of the free woman be servants of the sons of the handmaid; but as servants rejected by their lord for whose death they evilly conspired, let them realize that the result of this deed is to make them servants of those whom Christ's death made free,’ as we read in his decretal Etsi Judaeos… Innocent IV, also, in writing to St. Louis, King of France, who intended to drive the Jews beyond the boundaries of his kingdom, approves of this plan since the Jews gave very little heed to the regulations made by the Apostolic See in their regard: ‘Since We strive with all Our heart for the salvation of souls, We grant you full power by the authority of this letter to expel the Jews, particularly since We have learned that they do not obey the said statutes issued by this See against them."

-- Pope Benedict XIV (1740-1758) "On Jews and Christians Living in the Same Place, Encyclical of Pope Benedict XIV June 14, 1751

"For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either." (Romans 11: 16-21)

"Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3)

"We are informed by the texts of the gospels that in this Church and in its power are two swords; namely, the spiritual and the temporal…. Both, therefore, are in the power of the Church, that is to say, the spiritual and the material sword, but the former is to be administered for the Church but the latter by the Church; the former in the hands of the priest; the latter by the hands of kings and soldiers, but at the will and sufferance of the priest…Furthermore, we declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff."             

--Pope Boniface VIII (1294-1303) "Unam Sanctam Bull of Boniface VIII" November 18, 1302

"But Jesus said to him, 'Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels?'" (Matt. 26:52-53)

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Phil. 3:20)

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth." (Hebrews 11:13)