Father Pisut,
Recently I went to a conference where it was mentioned several times the Catholic Church before Vatican II did not want its memebers reading the Bible and actually discouraged it. If this is true, why would the Church do this?
Thanks,
Jenny
Jenny,
I'm not sure if you went to a Catholic conference or a non-Catholic one but in any event the following information is still pertinent in order to properly understand the place of the Bible in the life of faith. The assertion that the Catholic Church was opposed to its members reading the Bible is a common one made by her detractors which is of course not true, or at least not true as is it is commonly understood. Several things need to be considered. The first thing to consider is that Catholics have a fundamentally different understanding of the role of the Bible in the faith as opposed to other Christians. Sadly, however, many Catholics have absorbed the Protestant understanding of the Bible. Catholics believe that Christ established the Church, it is the Church that guides us. The Catholic Church compiled the canon of scripture over several centuries and decided what made up the Bible. While the Bible is integral to the deposit of Faith and everything that it teaches us in regards to faith and morals is true it is, nevertheless, just part of the faith along with the Magisterium (teaching office) of the Church and Sacred Tradition. While other Christians revere the Bible they view it in a vacuum and use it (or rather claim to use it) as their sole authority. In fact the Bible as we know it did not exist at the time of Christ's death and it was the Church that passed on the Faith before the Bible was even composed. The Church gave life to the Bible which in turn gives life to the Church.
For centuries literacy was very low so most persons were unable to read the Bible. Even if they could read the Church, concerned with the salvation of souls, needed to make sure that they understood it properly. While the Protestant Reformation encouraged the reading of the Bible there is the inevitable and difficult reality of varying interpretations. Yet there can be only one truth. The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit interprets the Bible for us. While the Church no doubt encourages persons to read the Bible more than they used to they never truly discouraged it but were concerned that persons had proper guidance. For a Catholic to read the Bible they must use an approved Catholic Bible with notes to help facilitate their understanding. Certain passages of the Bible, but not all, do have definitive interpretations that Catholics are bound to adhere to but outside of that Catholics are free to find spiritual solace as long as whatever meanings they may find do not conflict with the Catholic Faith. While Protestantism espouses a pesonal interpretation of the Bible and feels uncomfortable being told what to believe we inevitably have the problem of being presented with one truth or several truths, the latter of which is not possible. Ultimately, we must remember that Christ established the Catholic Church. The Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, gave us the Bible and has the authority and obligation to interpret its meaning for us for the salvation of our souls.
Fr. Pisut
