Quotes from saints

[catechumen08]

Hi, I’ve noticed that many people quote from saints. I was just wondering, do quotes from saints carry any degree of infallibility? I mean, how do we know what they say is true?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Eileen_T]

They are not infallible and should be read in the light of Tradition and the teaching of the Church. That is where the Nihil Obstat and the Imprimatur give us confidence that what we are reading is not against Church Teaching.

The procedure works like this: when a Catholic writes a book on faith, morals, theology, liturgy, books on prayer, editions of Sacred Scripture, etc., he will submit his manuscript to his diocese’s Censor. If the Censor finds no problem with it, he will give it his stamp, which reads “Nihil Obstat,” or “nothing stands in the way.” He then sends it to the Bishop for his review. If the Bishop finds nothing objectionable, he gives the book his “Imprimatur” which means, “let it be printed.”

 

[cam100]

We are not required to believe anything the saints said just because they were saints. The mere fact a saint said something does not make it true. The church itself teaches us everything we must know for salavation. Saints can make mistakes. Nevertheless, much of what saints have said can be helpful to us. The canonization process exists to give us the saints as examples so that we can learn from them.

 

[Caesar]

Unless the saint in question happens to be a pope uttering an infallible decree.

 

[catechumen08]

Thank you all for your replies!