Of course Roman Catholicism can point to certain of their writings where the reading of the Scriptures is enjoined. If these statements were carried into effect, all would be well. But of what use are these statements, if their practice is the exact opposite of it?
Listen to the 4th rule of "The Index of Prohibited Books," approved of by Pope Pius IV and still in force: "Since it is manifest by experience that if the Holy Bible in the vulgar tongue be suffered to be read everywhere without distinction, more evil than good arises, let the judgment of the bishop or inquisitor be abided by in this respect, so that after consulting with the parish priest or confessor, they may grant permission to read translations of the Scriptures, made by Catholic writers, to those whom they understand to be able to receive no harm, but an increase of faith and piety from such reading (which faculty let them have in writing). But whosoever shall presume to read these Bibles, or have them in possession without such faculty, shall not be capable of receiving absolution for their sins, unless they have first given up their Bible to the ordinary " (Rome, the Antagonist of the Nation. Rev. J. M. Foster. The Fundamentals, vol. II, ch. 7, p. 114).
This does not look like encouraging the reading of the Scriptures. Roman Catholicism takes away with one hand what she offers with the other. Is this honest? Here is a book given to us by God Himself, containing the message of salvation to a world of sinners, a Book telling us about the precious blood of Christ cleansing from all sin, and yet a Romanist, to have it in his possession without the written permission of the Church, is guilty of very serious crime, so much so that he cannot receive absolution for his sins.
Here is an account of Rome in practice. Father Chiniquy, a well-known Canadian priest, who afterward was forced to leave the Church of Rome for conscience sake, narrates how, when he was a child, a priest, the Revd. Mr. Courtois, visited his father. Addressing him, the priest said:
"'Mr. Chiniquy, is it true that you and your child read the Bible?'
"' Yes, sir,' was the quick reply, ' my little boy and I read the Scriptures, and what is still better, he has learned by heart a great number of its most interesting chapters. If you will allow it, Mr. Curate, he will give you some of them.'
"' I did not come for that purpose,' abruptly replied the priest; ' but do you know that you are forbidden by the Holy Council of Trent to read the Bible in French?'
" It makes little difference to me whether I read the Bible in French, Greek or Latin,' answered my father, for I understand these languages equally well.'
"' But are you ignorant of the fact that you cannot allow your child to read the Bible?' replied the priest.
"' My wife directs her own child in the reading of the Bible, and I cannot see that we commit any crime by continuing in the future what we have done till now in that matter.'
"' Mr. Chiniquy,' replied the priest, you have gone through a whole course of theology; you know the duties of a curate; you know it is my painful duty to come here, get the Bible from you, and BURN IT.'
"My father was pacing the room by this time with a double-quick step. His lips were pale and trembling and he was muttering between his teeth words, which were unintelligible to any one of us.
"The priest was closely watching all my father's movements; his hands were convulsively pressing his heavy cane, and his face was giving the sure evidence of a too well-grounded terror. It was clear that the ambassador of Rome did not find himself infallibly sure of his position on the ground that he had so foolishly chosen to take; since his last words, he had remained as silent as the tomb.
"At last, after having paced the room for a considerable time, my father suddenly stopped before the priest and said, 'Sir, is that all you have to say here?'
"' Yes, sir,' said the trembling priest.
"' Well, sir,' added my father, ' you know the door by which you entered my house. Please take the same door, and go away quickly.'
"The priest went out immediately. I felt an inexpressible joy when I saw that my Bible was safe " (Fifty Years in the Church of Rome, pp. 19, 20).
How different is the atmosphere of Scripture! We read from that Book: "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein " (Rev. 1:33Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3)).
"Blessed are they that read," says the Scripture. Cursed is he that reads, says Rome. Can such a system be rightly called Christian?
How beautiful is the case of the youthful Timothy. The Apostle Paul wrote approvingly to him: " From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee WISE UNTO SALVATION through faith which is in Christ Jesus " (2 Tim. 3:1515And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:15)).
Not only Timothy, but also his mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, are spoken of as having " unfeigned faith ". One can well imagine these godly women encouraging the child Timothy to read the Scriptures. The Apostle rejoiced that he had had free access to them.
There is a particularly beautiful verse in the Bible: " There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel with the women and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them " (Josh. 8:3535There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them. (Joshua 8:35)).
The solicitude that not only all the congregation should hear, but also that " the little ones " and the " strangers " should participate in the communications that God had for them is very beautiful, and stands in vivid contrast to the Roman Catholic's attitude to the Bible.
The writer has known Roman Catholics, who had never read a Bible till the grace of God reached them in saving power, and delivered them from priestly tyranny, which would have cruelly withheld from them the Word of God.
The following is strange reading: " A curious thing happened at the so-called Ecumenical Council, held in the Vatican in 1869-1870, at which the infallibility of the Pope was decreed. Dollinger and Dupanloup, in supporting their arguments against the insensate proposal, wished to refer to some passages of Scripture; but no one had a Bible in the whole Council, nor could one be procured for them within the bounds of the Church, so one had to be borrowed from the Protestant chaplain of the Prussian Embassy " (The Roman Catholic Church in Italy, p. 221).
The writer endeavored recently to secure a copy of the Douay Bible in a large and well-appointed Book Depository of the Catholic Truth Society, but they had not a single copy on sale.
There is nothing that the Roman Catholics dread so much as the people having free access to the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue; that is, in their own language. The Catholic Inquiry Center makes claims (1959) that: "Once printing was invented there were one hundred and twenty-four editions of the Bible printed by Catholics within the first fifty years and there were no less than nineteen German editions of the Bible before ever Martin Luther wrote his first Protestant translation." It is enormously difficult to check such claims (especially as Catholic teaching does not censure equivocation), but the facts in England are well known and tell a different story. Caxton set up the first printing press in England in 1470, but the first authorized Catholic version was the Douay Bible (New Testament, 1582, Rheims: Old Testament, 1609, Douay), and there are only a few to this day. Ask any Catholic, and it will be found, when the matter is pressed to facts, that they are not really encouraged to read the Bible, and indeed are often very sternly discouraged from doing so. " He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him " (Prov. 11:2626He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. (Proverbs 11:26)).
How much more so when the word of the living God is withheld. Since 1816 four pontiffs in succession have stated to the world that by the reading of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, " the very foundations of their religion are undermined ". The Scriptures do indeed undermine false Romish religion, whilst establishing the true faith of Christ.