The Catholic Church and the Bible

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Part 2.

Pope Pius VII* (1742 –1823)in a rescript, April 18, 1820, addressed to the English Bishops, he expressed his wish“to encourage their people to read the Holy Scriptures; for nothing can be more useful, more consoling, and more animating, inasmuch as they serve to confirm the faith, support the hope, and influence the charity of the true Christian.”Catholic Bishops in* AD* 1826“

Q. Do not Catholic Bishops and Popes discourage the reading of the Scriptures?***
A. No; the Catholic clergy are bound to read the Scripture for nearly an hour every day; the Catholic Bishops of Great Britain publicly declared, in 1826, that the circulation of authentic copies of Scripture was never discouraged by the Church”(A Doctrinal Catechism published in AD 1846)*

Third Council of Baltimore** (7 December AD 1884)*“It can hardly be necessary for us to remind you, beloved brethren, that the most highly valued treasure of every family library, and the most frequently and lovingly made use of, should be the Holy Scriptures… We hope that no family can be found amongst us without a correct version of the Holy Scriptures.”**The Holy Bible, Holy Trinity Edition (Chicago: Catholic Press,1951) p.xxi.

See Pictures of1884 Catholic Biblein America with endorsements from all the Bishops in USA in the opening pages encouraged the laity to read it.

Pope Leo XIII*(1878-1903 AD)Providentissimus Deus: Encyclical Of Pope Leo XIII On The Study Of Holy Scripture“ …* advancing the glory of God and contributing to the salvation of souls, have for a long time cherished the desire to give an impulse to the noble science of Holy Scripture, and to impart to Scripture study a direction suitable to the needs of the present day. The solicitude of the apostolic office naturally urges and even compels us, not only to desire that this grand source of Catholic revelation should be made safely and abundantly accessible to the flock of Jesus Christ, but also not to suffer any attempt to defile or corrupt it”“… For sacred Scripture is not like other books. Dictated by the Holy Ghost, it contains things of the deepest importance, which in many instances are most difficult and obscure. To understand and explain such things there is always required the ‘coming’ of the same Holy Ghost; that is to say, His light and His grace…It is absolutely wrong and forbidden either to narrow inspiration to certain parts only of holy Scripture or to admit that the sacred writer has erred… and so far is it from being possible that any error can co-exist with inspiration, that inspiration is not only essentially incompatible with error, but excludes and rejects it as absolutely and necessarily as it is impossible that God Himself, the supreme Truth, can utter that which is not true.”“(By reading the Scriptures) the intelligence which is once admitted to these sacred studies, and thereby illuminated and strengthened … and … at the same time the heart will grow warm, and will strive with ardent longing to advance in virtue and in divine love. ‘Blessed are they who examine His testimonies; they shall seek Him with their whole heart.’ ” (Psalm 119:2)[Providentissimus Deusat the Vatican Website. ( Nov. 18, 1893)]Note:“Holy Ghost”* is an older English translation from the Latin for “Holy Spirit”* which is* “Spiritūs Sancti.”*

Pope Leo XIII*(1898 AD)“An indulgence of 300 days for reading the Holy Gospels is granted to all the Faithful who read these Holy Scriptures for at least a quarter of an hour, with reverence due to the Divine Word and as spiritual reading…. A Plenary indulgence under the usual conditions is granted once a month for the daily reading.”*Pope Leo XIII. December, 1898,Preces et Pia Opera, 045.(Enchiridion Indulgentiarium,694).

Pope St. Pius X*(1903-1914 AD)“Nothing would please us more than to see our beloved children form the habit of reading the Gospels - not merely from time to time, but every day.”

Catechism of Pope Saint Pius X:**

28 Q: Is the reading of the Bible necessary to all Christians?**** A: The reading of the Bible is not necessary to all Christians since they are instructed by the Church; however its reading is very useful and recommended to all.**

29Q: May any translation of the Bible, in the vernacular, be read?****
A: We can read those translations of the Bible in the vernacular which have been acknowledged as faithful by the Catholic Church and which have explanations also approved by the Church.*

30 Q: Why may we only read translations of the Bible approved by the Church?****
A: We may only read translations of the Bible approved by the Church because she alone is the lawful guardian of the Bible.

3Q: Through which means can we know the true meaning of the Holy Scripture?***
A: We can only know the true meaning of Holy Scripture through the Church’s interpretation, because she alone is secure against error in that interpretation.—Catechism of Pope Saint Pius X: AD 1908,* On the Virtues and Vices:*

On Holy ScripturePope Benedict XV** (1914-1922 AD)“Our one desire for all the Church’s children is that, being saturated with the Bible, they may arrive at the all surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ.”**15 September AD 1920
He repeated St. Jerome’s statement:“Ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”
*
Pope Pius XII** 1943 AD“Our predecessors, when the opportunity occurred, recommended the study or preaching or in fine the pious reading and meditation of the sacred Scriptures.“… This author of salvation, Christ, will men more fully know, more ardently love and more faithfully imitate in proportion as they are more assiduously urged to know and meditate the Sacred Letters, especially the New Testament …”[Divino Afflante Spiritu]He also granted indulgences (a blessing of God’s grace) to those who read Scripture. (1 Cor. 4:1.)*** *

I can produce more.
 
Something that bothers me lately.

Some posters have no trouble saying how a majority of Catholics willfully ignore the Church’s teaching on contraception.

When a Catholic, or ex-Catholic says they were never encouraged, or in some cases even discouraged, from reading the bible, a tremendous amount of people cannot wait to say: “oh those poor lost sheep. How sad that the CC tries to hide God’s word from them.” Wouldn’t a fair question be: “why did you willfully ignore what the Church taught?”
 
IGotQuestions said:
Why did historically, the Catholic Church suppress the Bible?
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Proof??? It never did! This is a misunderstanding that is commonly passed down but false. This is one of the most common ones…NEVER did the Church do and desire this?!

Waiting to where this is coming from this, My Love in Christ (a convert)
mlz
 
Kliska said:
We were asked for specifics, so I gave mine. That was then dismissed, as it is here as being wrong. So, from the perspective here, either my friends (from different parishes and families) are lying to me, or they aren’t intelligent enough to understand what was taught to them. I don’t believe either of those things are true. I don’t believe, as I stated earlier, that this was a monolithic teaching of the RCC, and even stated I know priests and nuns who pushed scripture study, memorization, etc…

What I believe, based on the facts I have gathered from secular, Catholic, and protestant sources, is that the RCC did indeed have reasons they thought were good ones for persecuting individuals in the middle ages for translating and owning personal copies of the bible not approved by the RCC itself. History shows that the RCC and/or governments swayed by the RCC did indeed persecute protestants for various reasons including translating scripture without their permission or oversight. I understand why some would want to deny it, as we now know it to be a heinous thing, but it doesn’t come across very well to deny persecution when it happens on any side. Protestants persecuted Catholics. Catholics persecuted Protestants. Protestants and Catholics persecuted Anabaptists, etc… It doesn’t prove who is right or who is wrong, and we modern believers didn’t do it, but it still happened.

What I believe, based on facts I have gathered from individuals I know personally who are devout Catholics, is that independent bible study was frowned upon at one point in time. Not owning a Catholic bible, not reading the Catholic bible, but the attempt to learn it and study it on one’s own was actively discouraged.

I know plenty of ex-Catholics that would indeed come here and post that. I wouldn’t think of using their data, however, because if people won’t believe devout practicing Catholics, why would they believe ex-Catholics? 🤷

There can also be other reasons for that, other than it being misunderstood or someone slanting/lying about it. It could be that it actually did happen. Maybe not, but just maybe it did. I know people personally that say it did indeed happen to them, not a friend of a friend but to them personally. My friends that I’m referring to are closer to 60 than to 40, so were plenty old enough, as well as being serious Catholics that actually practice their faith, not “Christmas and Easter” Catholics, or Catholics that only got serious when they were older.

Did it happen to me personally? Of course not, I’m not Catholic nor have I ever been Catholic. Did it happen to people I trust to tell the truth, that were Catholic and still are? Yup. That’s all I really have to add to the conversation.

Grace and Peace,
K
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The problem is we are relating personal experience and actual church teaching while you relating what people told you .
 
estesbob said:
The problem is we are relating personal experience and actual church teaching while you relating what people told you .
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And hearsay is never evidence.

@Kiska–Have you ever been in a Catholic church? It was because of the illiteracy of the people that stained glass windows developed. Yes, some of these beautiful windows were destroyed during the Reformation. The primary purpose of these windows was to bring the Gospel message to life for those who could not read.
Why would the Church deny the scriptures that they are trying to teach if simultaneously doing everything that to make sure that even the most illiterate have access to those same scriptures through the proclamation of the Gospel during Mass as well as through its artwork? Does that make sense?
The prayers of the Church are filled with scripture. Very often it is not that the laity was discouraged from reading the scripture as that the laity lacked time. The rosary developed as the laity listened to monks reciting the beautiful psalms while they worked the fields. The Angelus developed during the Crusades, again referencing the Gospel message of Annunciation and Salvation through the redeeming power of the Cross.

What did the Catholic Church suppress? Poor Biblical translations and those not submitted to the proper Church authorities for approval. The written word of God (the Bible) comes from Tradition, not the other way around. Biblical inerrancy is the quality flowing from inspiration by which the Scriptures are—both in theory and in fact—free from error in the message they intend to convey. Various genres are used to convey the Truth of God’s message. The Catholic Church is the official interpreter of the Bible.
…Sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God’s most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.[Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation]
 
DebChris said:
And hearsay is never evidence.

@Kiska–Have you ever been in a Catholic church? It was because of the illiteracy of the people that stained glass windows developed. Yes, some of these beautiful windows were destroyed during the Reformation. The primary purpose of these windows was to bring the Gospel message to life for those who could not read.
Why would the Church deny the scriptures that they are trying to teach if simultaneously doing everything that to make sure that even the most illiterate have access to those same scriptures through the proclamation of the Gospel during Mass as well as through its artwork? Does that make sense?
The prayers of the Church are filled with scripture. Very often it is not that the laity was discouraged from reading the scripture as that the laity lacked time. The rosary developed as the laity listened to monks reciting the beautiful psalms while they worked the fields. The Angelus developed during the Crusades, again referencing the Gospel message of Annunciation and Salvation through the redeeming power of the Cross.

What did the Catholic Church suppress? Poor Biblical translations and those not submitted to the proper Church authorities for approval. The written word of God (the Bible) comes from Tradition, not the other way around. Biblical inerrancy is the quality flowing from inspiration by which the Scriptures are—both in theory and in fact—free from error in the message they intend to convey. Various genres are used to convey the Truth of God’s message. The Catholic Church is the official interpreter of the Bible.
…Sacred tradition, Sacred Scripture and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God’s most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.[Vatican II Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation]
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Think if any of the doubters just attended mass they would find these assertions or false . For instance this Sunday we had Scripture reading about Elijah feeding the multitudes and Jesus doing the same . In fact I suspect most Catholics get more scripture at Sunday mass that are separated bretheren do during the week . And the mass was always celebrated during the times that the church was supposedly keeping people away from Scripture . How can one possibly reconcile that with the first third of the Mass being the liturgy of the word with extensive readings from the Old Testament , the New Testament in the Gospels ?
 
OP…you have a number of questions and it is understandable you have to take time to read through all the responses and hope you are becoming educated now in what Catholics truly believe and practice.

I am proposing to my parish that a catechism be in every Catholic home along with the Bible.

I was taught the bible by the Irish nuns in the 1950’s, and learned all the stories pertaining to Christ by my First Holy Communion when I was 6 years old…1955.

Likewise…how many even could read when the Printing Press began to print bibles? and did you know that each bible took the skins of 340 plus sheep to make? Very expensive. So the church bibles had to be chained to the altars so people, who could read, wouldn’t take them home. There were too few around.
 
estesbob said:
Think if any of the doubters just attended mass they would find these assertions or false . For instance this Sunday we had Scripture reading about Elijah feeding the multitudes and Jesus doing the same . In fact I suspect most Catholics get more scripture at Sunday mass that are separated bretheren do during the week . And the mass was always celebrated during the times that the church was supposedly keeping people away from Scripture . How can one possibly reconcile that with the first third of the Mass being the liturgy of the word with extensive readings from the Old Testament , the New Testament in the Gospels ?
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This is exactly what brought at least one Baptist minister to the Catholic Church.
I have met these type of Baptists who know about the councils of the Catholic Church, etc. because they have been taught to preach against it. His faith crisis came when a friend converted to Catholicism. He decided to visit a Catholic church and discovered that while many non-Catholic churches preach about the the word of God. They may have a short reading and a long sermon. The Catholic Church actually proclaims the Word of God.
So began his journey toward the Catholic Church.
As mentioned in an earlier post, while riding the Greyhound, I have been asked if I was reading the Bible when I was actually praying the Liturgy of the Hours. Of course the Liturgy of the Hours does have the daily Psalter.
The cycle of readings for the Masses does allow a daily Mass goer to hear the Bible read over the course of three years. It only takes 15 minutes a day to read the Bible from cover to cover over the course of a year. I currently have a copy of the Christian Almanac (not Catholic) that gives a year’s reading schedule along with important days in Christian history.
Knowing what the Church teaches is a safeguard when confronted by those who try to lead you astray and for correcting errors with brotherly love. I know that the young people who met me getting off the bus a couple a weeks ago were not expecting somebody who knew scripture.
 
DebChris said:
This is exactly what brought at least one Baptist minister to the Catholic Church.
I have met these type of Baptists who know about the councils of the Catholic Church, etc. because they have been taught to preach against it. His faith crisis came when a friend converted to Catholicism. He decided to visit a Catholic church and discovered that while many non-Catholic churches preach about the the word of God. They may have a short reading and a long sermon. The Catholic Church actually proclaims the Word of God.
So began his journey toward the Catholic Church.
As mentioned in an earlier post, while riding the Greyhound, I have been asked if I was reading the Bible when I was actually praying the Liturgy of the Hours. Of course the Liturgy of the Hours does have the daily Psalter.
The cycle of readings for the Masses does allow a daily Mass goer to hear the Bible read over the course of three years. It only takes 15 minutes a day to read the Bible from cover to cover over the course of a year. I currently have a copy of the Christian Almanac (not Catholic) that gives a year’s reading schedule along with important days in Christian history.
Knowing what the Church teaches is a safeguard when confronted by those who try to lead you astray and for correcting errors with brotherly love. I know that the young people who met me getting off the bus a couple a weeks ago were not expecting somebody who knew scripture.
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I have been praying the hours for 15 years. It has been a great blessing
 
Great answers, shows the CC did not suppress the Bible.
I remember one story I heard about how Martin Luther was searching in a Church library and found a book he had never read before—the Bible. A story I learned later to be false. But this is the type of thing that is being taught in IFB churches.
 
Kliska said:
That is absolutely true; the laity were actively discouraged from reading Holy Scripture. Some see that as a good thing, some see that as a travesty. Modern Christians of all stripes can’t hardly fathom not owning a Bible of their own, so it is hard to realize the full import of what it meant in ages past to either not be allowed to own one, or to read one on one’s own. Good reasons and bad reasons abounded, but to be dismissive of the facts (on either side) is not a good thing.
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It would be hard to discourage reading the Bible when most people living during the reformation and long thereafter were mostly illiterate, moreover, to own a Bible prior to the printing press would have been too costly, although I question if poor people even had the money to buy a Bible even after the printing press.

p.s. I don’t doubt though that the reformation played a significant part in how the Church viewed laity reading Scripture.
 
IGotQuestions said:
Great answers, shows the CC did not suppress the Bible.
I remember one story I heard about how Martin Luther was searching in a Church library and found a book he had never read before—the Bible. A story I learned later to be false. But this is the type of thing that is being taught in IFB churches.
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Yes, that would be false. He was an Augustinian monk.
 
IGotQuestions said:
Why did historically, the Catholic Church suppress the Bible?
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Loaded question. I am sure “suppress” will be unliked. Protect may be a better word for some, which she surely did. But protect from “poor” translations, poor printing , poor understanding or poor reading, or practical application is what you will hear. After all, you will also hear that lay folk are not as educated and maybe could not read well etc,. And of course if biblical hermeneutics is based on history and tradition, then it is dangerous to read the bible with out such structures.

Did something change from OT and NT as far as the accessibility and reading by lay people of Holy Writ ?

Despite all rebuttals back and forth, the answer seems to be in the eyes of the beholder. I am absolutely sure of that.

Blessings all
 
IGotQuestions said:
Why did historically, the Catholic Church suppress the Bible?
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2000 years is a long time to suppress or never suppress.

As C.S. Lewis wrote, those ignorant of history are slaves to the recent past (paraphrase).
That is to say what is today with its freedoms and abundance of scripture in every desirable home, and its encouraged reading does not necessarily mean that such has always been the case.
 
benhur said:
2000 years is a long time to suppress or never suppress.

As C.S. Lewis wrote, those ignorant of history are slaves to the recent past (paraphrase).
That is to say what is today with its freedoms and abundance of scripture in every desirable home, and its encouraged reading does not necessarily mean that such has always been the case.
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Well of course there weren’t Bibles in every home until the printing press was invented. And if there have been most people couldn’t have read it. We are fortunate during this period the Catholic Church protected the Bible. Monks spent their lives painstakingly copying the Bible so there would be as many copies as possible . And of course the people got exposure to Scripture every week when they went to Mass.
 
estesbob said:
Well of course there weren’t Bibles in every home until the printing press was invented. And if there have been most people couldn’t have read it. We are fortunate during this period the Catholic Church protected the Bible. Monks spent their lives painstakingly copying the Bible so there would be as many copies as possible . And of course the people got exposure to Scripture every week when they went to Mass.
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See the provided links in Post #53.
 
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