Secular Authority Quotes
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.
There had been terrible religious wars between Catholics and Protestants in English history. The Protestants finally won and the Anglican Church of England became the “official” state church, but as England became a Democracy the power of the prelates and the church receded. However, there were fears of Catholic politicians in England that they were “controlled by the Pope” and if Catholics were too heavily part of the political system, the Pope might control and dominate English policy. Inge, one of the highest ranking Anglican clerics, allayed this fear, not by denying that the Popes and the Vatican might be interested in gaining more influence in England, but by appealing to the independence of the average Englishman and diminishing the spectre of the Pope by referring to him as an “Italian Priest.” As Inge and other high ranking Anglicans were in the English power system only English Priests. Inge at the time saw the Roman Catholic Church as a narrow, intolerant, monolithic anti modern institution. See {615671}. He argued that fear was inappropriate not because of the nature pf the Roman Church, but because of the characteristics of Englishmen, American Protestants had similar fears and Al Smith was defeated as President mainly because he was Catholic. For all but the worst religious bigots, this fear ended in America with the election of JFK.
