Catholic Church Quotes
This is a very important historical quotation in that it shows the extensive degree of anti-Catholic prejudice that existed in America in the late 1930s. Most of the anti-Catholic feeling was based in the absurd but real belief of millions of Protestants that the Pope was trying to control America. Then there was the fear and that American Catholics would take political direction from the Vatican and the Catholic bishops. The perception of the Church was hundreds of years out of date. Most of the anti-Catholic bias reduced along with anti-Semitism in the remainder of the 20th century as Americans became much more religiously tolerant. By the 21st century, religious prejudice still existed but it was limited to a small group of Americans whose views were generally condemned by the American mainstream of thought and opinion.
While Aquinas brought much wisdom and good to the Church, this statement and others laid a foundation for murdering non-believers and organizing the Inquisition.
While most of the Council of Trent was very conservative in that they were dealing with the threat of Reformation and the Protestants, this particular Cannon is profoundly liberal. Women, who had virtually no rights had often been “sent” to a convent by a father or guardian, the local priest or bishop, and in some cases even a husband. This established for the first time that women could not be forced to take vows—a major step in the evolution of the freedom of women in Western society.
Marqués de Valdegamas. He was a descendant of the conquistador, Hernando Cortez.
