Say Pope Quote by Barbara Kyle
““The priests will sell indulgence letters for fornication, for the breaking of vows, for shunning confession, for ignoring fasts, and, of course, for rescuing souls from purgatory. Purgatory,” he repeated with a sneer. “This dread place exists, the Church teaches, for the cleansing of sinful man’s soul after death, but the Church will gladly give you remission of years of your soul’s agony there—for a price. Now, tell me this. If the Pope has the power to deliver a soul out of purgatory, why then can he not deliver it without money? And if he can deliver one soul, then why does he not deliver a thousand? Why not all? Let loose all the poor, tortured souls, and thus destroy purgatory.” His fist punched the air. “I say the Pope is a tyrant if he keeps souls within purgatory’s prison until men give him money!””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Unknown anti‑church rant, date unknown
The speaker condemns the Church’s sale of indulgences, arguing that selling salvation is corrupt and tyrannical.
In simple terms: Selling salvation is corrupt.
Key Takeaway
Question the morality of buying forgiveness.
Themes
religion
corruption
power
ethics
Mood
critical
skeptical
Type
controversial
philosophical
When to use this quote
- debates on religious reform
- financial exploitation of faith
- historical analysis of indulgences
- modern critiques of institutional religion
Key Concepts
indulgences
purgatory
church authority
Questions to Reflect On
- Is spiritual authority ever justified to demand payment?
- How does this critique apply to modern institutions?
A Different Perspective
The historical context of indulgences is complex and not solely about money.
![“14. The imperfect health [of soul], that is to say, the imperfect love, of the dying brings with it, of necessity, great fear; and the smaller the love, the greater is the fear. 15. This fear and horror is sufficient of itself alone (to say nothing of other things) to constitute the penalty of…” quote by Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ed7/martin-luther-106_death_14-the-imperfect-health-of-soul-that-is_540204.jpg)
