Francis de Sales Quotes
If you have to do with one who is unquestionably a slanderer, do not excuse him by calling him frank and free-spoken; do not call one who is notoriously vain, liberal and elegant; do not call dangerous levities mere simplicity; do not screen disobedience under the name of zeal; or arrogance, of frankness; or evil intimacy, of friendship. No, my friends, we must never, in our wish to shun slander, foster or flatter vice in others: but we must call evil evil, and sin sin, and so doing we shall serve God's glory.
de Sales, Francis. Introduction to the Devout Life. Translated by John K. Ryan, Image Books, 1966.
He was referring to his campaign in 2000 where South Carolina was a very important state in the Republican primary elections and he was campaigning there. At that time, the racist tradition of flying the Confederate Flag, a symbol of slavery and disloyalty to the Union, over the state capitol was a hot political issue with Blacks and some whites outraged and many conservatives who were insistent that the tradition be maintained. McCain, not wanting to offend the conservative who were the core of the voters in the Republican primary, said he did not see anything wrong with the practice when it really offended him as it did most Americans at the time.
Francis de Sales was a Bishop of Geneva and is honored as a saint in the Catholic Church. He became noted for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation. He is known also for his writings on the topic of spiritual direction and spiritual formation, particularly the Introduction to the Devout Life and the Treatise on the Love of God.
