Vincent McNabb Quotes
Perhaps no General Council has been more naturally fitted than the Vatican Council to produce a masterpiece of religious thought and literature. No assembly of men since the time of Christ has ever been so representative of Christian and national thought.
McNabb, Vincent. Introduction. The Decrees of the Vatican Council, edited by Vincent McNabb, Burns & Oates, 1907, p. 2.
His response was to being asked whether he could do something with Russian Catholics to help Laval win favor with the Pope, to counter the increasing threat of Nazism. This quotation is often used as an example of Stalin’s disrespect for the Papacy. However, in this case, the Pope was extremely weak politically and some argue spiritually for he did not oppose Hitler and the Nazis very much. Defenders of the Papacy argue that Hitler had overwhelming force and little respect for the Pope, and ironically this was what Stain was referring to. Ironically, another Pope, John Paul, had a major part in bring down the Soviet Union and he had no divisions.
This is an excellent example of the many public insults that the Irish religious leaders hurled at each other exacerbating the intercommunal tension between the Catholics and Protestants. There were amost no Irish leaders of either religion who tried to dampen the animosity and conflict.
He became furious when the Pole had visited his country and there were so many people who anted to see the Pope that Manila traffic was totally jammed and gridlocked. This quote was the President’s reaction to the snarled traffic.
Vincent McNabb, O.P. was an Irish scholar and priest, based in London, active in evangelisation and apologetics.
