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Myth #3 :
Catholic Church Prohibited Bible Reading.
And she desired to prevent Catholics from reading the Bible before
Vatican II ?
It is a common myth that Bible reading was
prohibited or at least discouraged by the Catholic Church from the
Council of Trent until Vatican II, 1962 AD. This myth is so widespread
that it is accepted as an “historical fact” by many. The fact this myth
is so easily disproved and yet still so wide spread is proof of the deep
seated anti-Catholic prejudice of our culture.
All one has to do is to examine Catholic Bibles
during this time period and one can see how the Popes and the Bishops of
the Church clearly promoted Bible reading and study. (see
exception to the Rule.) This was done very prominently on the
opening pages of such Bibles. For example, see these Bibles below.
1957 Catholic Bible
1884
Catholic Bible
1829 Catholic Bible for School Children
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1957 Bible
Cover |
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1957 Bible
Date of Printing, 1957 AD
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1957 Bible
In the opening pages this Bible contains
a copy of Pope Pius XII’s Enclyclical on the Reading of the
Sacred Scriptures
Divino Afflante Spiritu, 1943 September 30th
(9.) “Our Predecessors, when the
opportunity occurred, recommended the study or preaching or in
fine the pious reading and meditation on the Sacred Scriptures.” |
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1957 Bible
It also states:
(57). … “
‘For
other foundation no man can lay, but that which is laid: which
is Christ Jesus.’
[38] This author of salvation, Christ, will men more
fully know, more ardently love and faithfully imitate in
proportion as they are more assiduously urged to know and
meditate the Sacred Letters, especially the New Testament, for,
as St. Jerome the Doctor of Stridon says:
‘To
ignore the Scripture is to ignore Christ’
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1957 Bible
This Bible also encourages a devout pray
to the Holy Spirit of for guidance in understanding what is
written. |
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1957 Bible
Picture of Jesus
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1884
AD Catholic Bible
The Cover with clasp
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1884
AD Catholic Bible
Date of Printing :1884, a reprint of an
1883 edition
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1884
AD Catholic Bible
It was intended for Catholic
Families as
well as parish use.
Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New
York, gives his endorsement to the edition published a year
earlier in 1883.
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1884
AD Catholic Bible
This Bible has numerous pictures.
Shortly after World War I my
Grandfather used this edition to teach my Father while he was
still a toddler the stories of
the Bible by explaining the pictures to him
before he knew how to read.
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1884
AD Catholic Bible
This 1884 Haydock’s Catholic Family
Bible on its opening pages printed the approbation – or official
approval or sanctioning of it – from over two dozen American
Bishops.
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1884
AD Catholic Bible
Bishop O’Regan, of Chicago writes that
he “would wish to see it (this Bible) in every clergyman’s
library and in every family.”
Numerous Bishops and Archbishops in America gave their full
support and endorsement to this Haydock English Language
Catholic Bible as can be seen in these photographs.
These include:
Bishop Fitzpatrick, of Boston,
Bishop O’Reilly of Hartford,
Bishop Rappe, of Cleveland,
Bishop O’Regan, of Chicago,
Bishop Miles, of Nashville,
Archbishop Spalding, of Baltimore,
Bishop Chanche, of Natchez,
Very Rev. Father Mathew,
Right Rev. Dr. Wareing, Bishop of
Ariopolis,
Cardinal Wiseman, Archbishop of
Westminister,
Right Rev. Dr. Biggs, Bishop of Trachis,
Right Rev. George Brown, Bishop of TLOA,
Right Rev. Dr. T. J. Brown, Bishop of
Apollonia.
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1884
AD Catholic Bible
It was also endorsed by
Very Rev. Dr. Walsh, Administrator of
the Archdiocese of Philadelphia,
Bishop Shanahan, of Harrisburg,
Bishop Loughlin, of Brooklyn,
Bishop Wigger, of Newark, N.J.,
Bishop O’Farrell, Trenton, N.J.,
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1884
AD Catholic Bible
Also includes the approbations of:
Archbishop Hughes of New York,
Archbishop Purcell of Cincinnati,
Archbishop Blanc of New Orleans,
Archbishop Kenrick, St. Louis,
Archbishop M’Closkey of New York,
Bishop Wood, of Philadelphia,
Bishop Lefevre, of Detroit,
Archbishop Hughes of New
York writes, “Having examined the New Illustrated Edition of
Haydock’s Bible, now in course of publication, under the
revision of the learned and Very Reverend Dr. Husenbeth, and
approved by many distinguished Bishops in Great Britain and
Ireland, I cheerfully give it my humble approbation also, having
entire confidence in the testimony of the Illustrious Prelates
by whom it has been so generally recommended.” |
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1884
AD Catholic Bible
Table of Contents
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1884 AD Catholic Bible
Opposite the Table of
Contents is a reprint of a letter of Pope Pius the Sixth dated
1778, April 1st AD. It reads as follows (the
“Vulgar Tongue” means the common language of the people):
 The
Following Letter Of His Holiness Pius The Sixth, To The Most
Rev. Anthony Martini, Archbishop Of
Florence,
On His Translation Of The Holy Bible Into Italian, Shews The
Benefit Which The Faithful
May Reap
From Their Having The Holy Scriptures In The Vulgar Tongue.
POPE PIUS THE SIXTH.
BELOVED SON :
Health and apostolic benediction. At a time that a vast
number of bad books, which most grossly attack
the Catholic religion, are circulated even among the
unlearned, to the great destruction of souls, you judge
exceedingly well,
that
the faithful should be excited to the reading of the Holy
Scriptures
: for
these are the most abundant sources which ought
to be left open to every one,
to draw from them purity of morals and of doctrine, to
eradicate the errors which are widely disseminated
in these corrupt times : this you have seasonably effected,
as you declare,
by
publishing the sacred writings in the
language of your country,
suitable to every one's capacity ...
Given at Rome, on the calends of April, 1778, the fourth
year of our pontificate.
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1829 Catholic Bible for School Children
See more
statements by
Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903
AD)
Pope St. Pius X (1903-1914
AD)
Pope Benedict XV
(1914-1922 AD)
Problems began when Protestants started putting
slanderous accusations and inflammatory comments in the marginal notes
of their Bibles. At this time of course, the Catholic Church did
implement appropriate restrictions so that the practice of Bible reading
would remain fruitful. As those problems were abated the
restrictions were lifted.
See the article:
Reasons
why the Catholic Church disapproved of Protestant Bibles.
Myths About the Catholic
Church and the Bible
Bible Reading
Prohibited ?
Myth #1
The Catholic Church prevented the people from reading the Bible
by keeping it in Latin.
Reply: Not so.
See how to prove that an Englishmen would have been more likely
to have been able to read Latin than English in the 16th
Century.
Myth #2
The
Church chained the Bible to prevent people from reading it.
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Footnotes:
Exception to the Rule.
With the Church being so big there can always be
found some who fall outside the practice or norm established by the
Popes. But, then to be Catholic is to be in union with the Pope and not
against his teachings. There is a case after Vatican II where a priest
was very disappointed that some members left the Church and Jesus in the
Eucharist to join a Protestant led Bible study fellowship. It seems as
though some of these ex-Catholics had fallen into a type of clericalism
where they had expected their priest to be somewhat god-like and be
capable of knowing and remembering every answer to every polemical and
“biblical” argument against the Church. Since the priest could not
answer their argument against the Church they used that encounter as a
justification for leaving the Church. Out of frustration and the desire
to preserve their unity with Jesus in the Eucharist the priest
mistakenly told them to not bother reading the Bible. While
understandable, this is contrary to the overall expressed wishes of the
Popes. Unfortunately, it became not totally unknown for some priests to
express teachings contrary to our Holy Father, the Pope, after Vatican
II. However, it was much more rare to find this type of deviation
before Vatican II.
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