The Issue At Hand

[Guest KevinSymonds]

I have done some extensive research on the Pope Urban VIII alleged quote and have paid good money in the process.

There is no proof, to date, that he ever made the quote.

What we [b]do[/b] know is that Urban VIII wrote a Bull called "Sanctissimus Dominus Noster" that dealt with this very subject of private revelations. Catholic Encyclopedia has a decent summary in its Urban VIII entry but there's a bit more to the actual document than meets the eye. I personally own a copy of the Latin text from its original printed Volume, accompanied by an English translation. This document influenced the popes up to and including Pope St. Pius X in his Encyclical "Pascendi Dominici Gregis" (paragraph 55).

If someone was to find the exact reference for the alleged Pope Urban VIII quote, I'd be plenty glad for it.

-KJS

[Fr. Bruno]

[quote name='KevinSymonds' post='1586501' date='Jun 30 2008, 12:01 AM']I have done some extensive research on the Pope Urban VIII alleged quote and have paid good money in the process.

There is no proof, to date, that he ever made the quote.

What we [b]do[/b] know is that Urban VIII wrote a Bull called "Sanctissimus Dominus Noster" that dealt with this very subject of private revelations. Catholic Encyclopedia has a decent summary in its Urban VIII entry but there's a bit more to the actual document than meets the eye. I personally own a copy of the Latin text from its original printed Volume, accompanied by an English translation. This document influenced the popes up to and including Pope St. Pius X in his Encyclical "Pascendi Dominici Gregis" (paragraph 55).

If someone was to find the exact reference for the alleged Pope Urban VIII quote, I'd be plenty glad for it.

-KJS[/quote]

Even if he did say that, this does not mean that it has to be taken as an infallible statement.
Popes may express their opinion on a lot of things (fortunately) without intending to make binding declarations for the entire people of God. There are different degrees of authority which we have to take into account when trying to understand statements from popes or councils in past times. The first question to ask is : what kind of document is it ? A letter or homily from the Pope does not have the same level of authority as an encyclical or a dogmatic constitution. The second question is : inside this document, which is the importance that the author intends to give to this statement ? Third we also have to be aware of the historical context in which a document was written. Finally, some words or expressions used 4 centuries ago may mean something slightly different then today...

[Guest KevinSymonds]

[quote name='Fr. Bruno' post='1586542' date='Jun 29 2008, 05:50 PM']Even if he did say that, this does not mean that it has to be taken as an infallible statement.
Popes may express their opinion on a lot of things (fortunately) without intending to make binding declarations for the entire people of God. There are different degrees of authority which we have to take into account when trying to understand statements from popes or councils in past times. The first question to ask is : what kind of document is it ? A letter or homily from the Pope does not have the same level of authority as an encyclical or a dogmatic constitution. The second question is : inside this document, which is the importance that the author intends to give to this statement ? Third we also have to be aware of the historical context in which a document was written. Finally, some words or expressions used 4 centuries ago may mean something slightly different then today...[/quote]

Fr. Bruno,
-None of your questions can be answered until the alleged quote's promoters provide a citation. I'll be happy to answer your questions as soon as I get that citation and have time to examine the facts. Until such a time happens, however, it is best to stick with what we do know.

Peace!
-Kevin Symonds