Clergy

"It is worth noting that Protestantism suppresses the clergy, and though it claims to uphold the authority of the Bible, it in fact ruins it by free inquiry."

"Minister doth not always import an inferior to him to whom he doth minister: for the Psalm saith, God hath made man paulo inferiorem Angelis; and yet in the first chapter to the Hebrews it is said, that the Angels are ministering spirits, sent forth for the good of Gods saints."

"As the French say, there are three sexes – men, women, and clergymen."

"[The priesthood] truly plays the role of mediator between heaven and earth, and it is not without reason that in the Western traditions the priesthood in all its plenitude received the symbolic name of pontificate, for, as Saint Bernard says, the Pontiff, as indicated by the etymology of his name, is a kind of bridge [pont] between God and man. If one then wished to go back to the primal origin of the priestly and royal powers, one must look to the celestial world."

"Though all good men be called Gods servants in their general vocation, yet they cannot be called the minister of God but to a more special use."

"I never saw, heard, nor read, that the clergy were beloved in any nation where Christianity was the religion of the country. Nothing can render them popular but some degree of persecution."

"A priest is a man who is called Father by everyone except his own children, who are obliged to call him Uncle."

"Our high mission, our noble calling, is to build up souls, to perfect the Christian life, and to make manhood acceptable to God, and radiant in the sight of all men."

"Bibles the greatest book ever written. But I sure dont need anybody I can buy for six bits and a chew of tobacco to explain it to me. When I need preachers I buy em cheap."

"They seem to know no medium between a mitre and a crown of martyrdom. If the clergy are not called to the latter, they never deviate from the pursuit of the former. One would think their motto was, Canterbury or Smithfield."

"Manye chapeleyns arn chaste, ac charite is aweye; Are none hardere than hii whan hii ben avaunced: Unkynde to hire kyn and to alle Cristene, Chewen hire charite and chiden after moore – Swich chastite withouten charite worth cheyned in helle."

"A man who is good enough to go to heaven, is good enough to be a clergyman."