Historical Quotes from The Roman Catholic Church on Withholding the Scriptures

The Roman Catholic Church has some tainted and often brutal history. We all know this to be true, even Roman Catholics will admit this. And while Protestantism is not without it’s blemishes, the scale and scope of the oppression Christians were subject to under the Roman Catholic Church far exceeds that of Protestatism. One form of oppression was the withholding of the Scriptures from the laity. According to some sources, even teaching ones children the Lord’s Prayer or the Ten Commandments in their native language was a criminal offense:

“Book burnings which included Bibles  were common after 1521. Sometimes the  translators and publishers themselves  were also burned. Possession of Bibles became  criminal offenses and often resulted in the  execution of the accused. There are cases on  record of people executed by order of church  for the “crime” teaching their children  the Lord’s Prayer or the Ten Commandments  in their own native tongue.” -What Happened this Day in Church History June 13, 1757 • The Bible in Many Tongues. Christian History Institute

While the validity of this claim may seem too outrageous to be true since the Roman Catholic Church of today has relaxed it’s persecution of such simple acts, this was in fact historically true. Even owning the Scriptures was a punishable crime: Roman Catholic apologist reason that it as secular state authorities that withheld the Scriptures. To counter this claim, we have included quotes from the Roman Catholic Church on banning, persecuting or punishing those who created or at times even owned a translation of the Bible.  This list includes quotes from Popes and Councils of the Roman Catholic Church, not secular authorities, condemning anyone who had a personal copy of the Scriptures:

The Roman Catholic Church decrees on withholding the Bible

… to be reproved are those who translate into French the Gospels, the letters of Paul, the psalter, etc. They are moved by a certain love of Scripture in order to explain them clandestinely and to preach them to one another. The mysteries of the faith are not to explained rashly to anyone. Usually in fact, they cannot be understood by everyone but only by those who are qualified to understand them with informed intelligence. The depth of the divine Scriptures is such that not only the illiterate and uninitiated have difficulty understanding them, but also the educated and the gifted- Pope Innocent III 1199, Denzinger-Schönmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum 770-771 Canon 14.

We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament; unless anyone from motive of devotion should wish to have the Psalter or the Breviary for divine offices or the hours of the blessed Virgin; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books. -COUNCIL OF TOULOUSE – 1229 A.D.

In France Louis VIII decreed in 1226 that persons excommunicated by the diocesan bishop, or his delegate, should receive “meet punishment” (debita animadversio). In 1249 Louis IX ordered barons to deal with heretics according to the dictates of duty (de ipsis faciant quod debebant). A decree of the Council of Toulouse (1229) makes it appear probable that in France death at the stake was already comprehended as in keeping with the aforesaid debita animadversio. -The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia on the Inquisition The Inquisition of Toulouse imposed by Albigensian Crusaders forbids laymen to read the Bible. – The People’s Chronology, page 108.

The Council of Tarragona of 1234, in its second canon, ruled that:

“No one may possess the books of the Old and New Testaments in the Romance language, and if anyone possesses them he must turn them over to the local bishop within eight days after promulgation of this decree, so that they may be burned lest, be he a cleric or a layman, he be suspected until he is cleared of all suspicion.” -D. Lortsch, Historie de la Bible en France, 1910, p.14. (also see The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia on Scripture)

John Wycliffe is often accredited with being the first “reformer” to produce an English version of the Bible. While this is not exactly true, as there were English versions dating all the way back to the 7th century, Wycliffe did open the door for the reformation and the common man’s desire to have a Bible for his own use. However, these were burned at the stake as well:

“In the two decades after Wycliffe’s death,  many Lollards were burned at the stake,  some even with their Bibles hanging from  their necks to be burned with them.” -Ron Minton,  The Making and Preservation of the Bible  (n.p.; November, 2000) 216.

And Wycliffe was condemned as a heretic:

“that pestilent wretch of damnable heresy who invented a new translation of the scriptures in his mother tongue.” -Council of Constance, in 1415 on John Wycliffe

English was a common language in many areas, however services and the Bible were always in Latin. After this condemnation of Wycliffe, forty four years after his death, the Roman Catholic Church had his body exhumed and his bones publicly burned just to show their authority in controlling Christians. Once again, English Translations were banned in 1408 at the third synod of Oxford, England:

“It is dangerous, as St. Jerome declares, to translate the text of Holy Scriptures out of one idiom into another, since it is not easy in translations to preserve exactly the same meaning in all things. We therefore command and ordain that henceforth no one translate the text of Holy Scripture into English or any other language as a book, booklet, or tract, of this kind lately made in the time of the said John Wyclif or since, or that hereafter may be made, either in part or wholly, either publicly or privately, under pain of excommunication, until such translation shall have been approved and allowed by the Provincial Council. He who shall act otherwise let him be punished as an abettor of heresy and error.”

The principal accusation against those who are subject to this tribunal is heresy, which comprises all that is spoken, or written, against any of the articles of the creed, or the traditions of the Roman Church. The inquisition likewise takes cognizance of such as are accused of being magicians, and of such who read the Bible in the common language, the Talmud of the Jews, or the Alcoran of the Mahometans.  Upon all occasions the inquisitors carry on their processes with the utmost severity, and punish those who offend them with the most unparalleled cruelty. A Protestant has seldom any mercy shown him, and a Jew, who turns Christian, is far from being secure.  A defence in the Inquisition is of little use to the prisoner, for a suspicion only is deemed sufficient cause of condemnation, and the greater his wealth the greater his danger. The principal part of the inquisitors’ cruelties is owing to their rapacity: they destroy the life to possess the property; and, under the pretence of zeal, plunder each obnoxious individual. -Foxes Book of the Martyrs

Prohibition after the Printing Press:

From 1553 to 58, during the reign of Roman Catholic Queen Mary or Bloody Mary, many Christians were burned at the stake for possessing Bibles that were bring printed via that printing press. This is the true preservation of the Bible for the common man’s use and we have God and God alone to thank for this. However, these Bibles were confiscated and burned as well.

Pope Pius IV issued a list of the forbidden books compiled and officially prohibited them in the Index of Trent (Index Librorum Prohibitorum) of 1559. Below are excerpts from the Pope’s prohibition of the Bible:

Rule I All books which were condemned prior to 1515 by popes or ecumenical councils, and are not listed in this Index, are to stand condemned in the original fashion.

Rule II Books of arch-heretics – those who after 1515 have invented or incited heresy or who have been or still are heads and leaders of heretics, such as Luther, Zwingli, Calvin, Hubmaier, Schwenckfeld, and the like — whatever their name, title or argumentation — are prohibited without exception. As far as other heretics are concerned, only those books are condemned without exception which deal ex professo with religion. Others will be permitted after Catholic theologians have examined and approved them by the order of bishops and inquisitors. Likewise, Catholic books written by those who subsequently fell into heresy or by those who after their lapse returned into the bosom of the Church can be permitted after approval by a theological faculty or the inquisition.

Rule III Translations of older works, including the church fathers, made by condemned authors, are permitted if they contain nothing against sound doctrine. However, translations of books of the Old Testament may be allowed by the judgment of bishops for the use of learned and pious men only. These translations are to elucidate the Vulgate so that Sacred Scripture can be understood, but they are not to be considered as a sacred text. Translations of the New Testament made by authors of the first sections in this Index are not to be used at all, since too little usefulness and too much danger attends such reading.

Rule IV Since experience teaches that, if the reading of the Holy Bible in the vernacular is permitted generally without discrimination, more damage than advantage will result because of the boldness of men, the judgment of bishops and inquisitors is to serve as guide in this regard. Bishops and inquisitors may, in accord with the counsel of the local priest and confessor, allow Catholic translations of the Bible to be read by those of whom they realize that such reading will not lead to the detriment but to the increase of faith and piety. The permission is to be given in writing. Whoever reads or has such a translation in his possession without this permission cannot be absolved from his sins until he has turned in these Bibles …

Dogmatic Constitution issued by Pope Clement XI on Sept. 8, 1713.

The following statements are condemned as being error:

79. It is useful and necessary at all times, in all places, and for every kind of person, to study and to know the spirit, the piety, and the mysteries of Sacred Scripture.

80. The reading of Sacred Scripture is for all.

81. The sacred obscurity of the Word of God is no reason for the laity to dispense themselves from reading it.

82. The Lord’s Day ought to be sanctified by Christians with readings of pious works and above all of the Holy Scriptures. It is harmful for a Christian to wish to withdraw from this reading.

83. It is an illusion to persuade oneself that knowledge of the mysteries of religion should not be communicated to women by the reading of Sacred Scriptures. Not from the simplicity of women, but from the proud knowledge of men has arisen the abuse of the Scriptures and have heresies been born.

84. To snatch away from the hands of Christians the New Testament, or to hold it closed against them by taking away from them the means of understanding it, is to close for them the mouth of Christ.

85. To forbid Christians to read Sacred Scripture, especially the Gospels, is to forbid the use of light to the sons of light, and to cause them to suffer a kind of excommunication.

Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on 18 November 1893. This time the Catholic Church decided to decree that it was the only source of what te Bible says:

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH THE ONLY TRUE GUIDE TO SCRIPTURE

14. … Wherefore it must be recognized that the sacred writings are wrapt in a certain religious obscurity, and that no one can enter into their interior without a guide[32]; God so disposing, as the Holy Fathers commonly teach, in order that men may investigate them with greater ardor and earnestness, and that what is attained with difficulty may sink more deeply into the mind and heart; and, most of all, that they may understand that God has delivered the Holy Scriptures to the Church, and that in reading and making use of His Word, they must follow the Church as their guide and their teacher. … the Council of the Vatican, which, in renewing the decree of Trent declares its “mind” to be this—that “in things of faith and morals, belonging to the building up of Christian doctrine, that is to be considered the true sense of Holy Scripture which has been held and is held by our Holy Mother the Church, whose place it is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the Scriptures; and therefore that it is permitted to no one to interpret Holy Scripture against such sense or also against the unanimous agreement of the Fathers.“[34] … Hence it follows that all interpretation is foolish and false which either makes the sacred writers disagree one with another, or is opposed to the doctrine of the Church. 15. … But it is most unbecoming to pass by, in ignorance or contempt, the excellent work which Catholics have left in abundance, and to have recourse to the works of non-Catholics—and to seek in them, to the detriment of sound doctrine and often to the peril of faith, the explanation of passages on which Catholics long ago have successfully employed their talent and their labor. For although the studies of non-Catholics, used with prudence, may sometimes be of use to the Catholic student, he should, nevertheless, bear well in mind—as the Fathers also teach in numerous passages[41]—that the sense of Holy Scripture can nowhere be found incorrupt out side of the Church, and cannot be expected to be found in writers who, being without the true faith, only gnaw the bark of the Sacred Scripture, and never attain its pith. -PROVIDENTISSIMUS DEUS (On the Study of Holy Scripture), Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII promulgated on 18 November 1893.

Next came the 1918 CODE OF CANON LAW ON CENSORSHIP AND PROHIBITING BOOKS:

TITLE XXIII. Censorship and Prohibition of Books. 1227. The Church has the right to rule that Catholics shall not publish any books unless they have first been subjected to the approval of the Church, and to forbid for a good reason the faithful to read certain books, no matter by whom they are published. The rules of this title concerning books are to be applied also to daily papers, periodicals, and any other publication, unless the contrary is clear from the Canons. (Canon 1384).

CHAPTER I. Censorship of Books. 1128. Without previous ecclesiastical approval even laymen are not allowed to publish: 1. the books of Holy Scripture, or annotations and commentaries of the same; 2. books treating of Sacred Scripture, theology, Church history, Canon Law, natural theology, ethics, and other sciences concerning religion and morals. Furthermore, prayer books, pamphlets and books of devotion, of religious teaching, either moral, ascetic, or mystic, and any writing in general in which there is anything that has a special bearing on religion or morality; 3. sacred images reproduced in any manner, either with or without prayers. The permission to publish books and images spoken of in this Canon may be given either by the proper Ordinary of the author, or by the Ordinary of the place where they are published, or by the Ordinary of the place where they are printed; if, however, any one of the Ordinaries who has a right to give approval refuses it, the author cannot ask of another unless he informs him of the refusal of the Ordinary first requested. The religious must, moreover, first obtain permission from their major superior. (Canon 1385.)

1234. Translations of the Holy Scriptures in the vernacular languages may not be published unless they are either approved by the Holy See, or they are published, under the the supervision of the bishop, with annotations chiefly taken from the holy Fathers of the Church and learned Catholic writers. (Canon 1391.)

1241. The prohibition of books has this effect that the forbidden books may not without permission be published, read, retained, sold, nor translated into another language, nor made known to others in any way. The book which has in any way been forbidden may not again be published except after the demanded corrections have been made and the authority which forbade the book, or his superior, or successor, has given permission. (Canon 1398.)

1242. By the very law are forbidden: 1. editions of the original text, or of ancient Catholic versions, of the Sacred Scriptures, also of the Oriental Church, published by non-Catholics; likewise any translation in any language made or published by them; 2. books of any writers defending heresy or schism, or tending in any way to undermine the foundations of religion; 3. books which purposely fight against religion and good morals; 4. books of any non-Catholic treating professedly of religion unless it is certain that nothing is contained therein against the Catholic faith; 5. books on the holy Scriptures or on religious subjects which have been published without the permission required by Canons 1385, § 1, nn. 1, and 1391; books and leaflets which bring an account of new apparitions, revelations, visions, prophecies, miracles, or introduce new devotions even though under the pretext that they are private; if these books, etc., are published against the rules of the Canons; 6. books which attack or ridicule any of the Catholic dogmas, books which defend errors condemned by the Holy See, or which disparage Divine worship, or tend to undermine ecclesiastical discipline, or which purposely insult the ecclesiastical hierarchy, or the clerical and religious states; … (Canon 1399.) -THE NEW CANON LAW, A commentary and Summary of the New Code of Canon Law, by Rev. Stanislaus Woywod, O.F.M.,pages 282-289.

“The Roman Catholic Church has traditionally  suppressed, opposed, and forbidden the open use  of the Bible. It was first officially forbidden  to the people and placed on the index of Forbidden  Books List by the Council of Valencia in 1229 A.D.  The Council of Trent (1545-63 A.D.) also prohibited  its use and pronounced a curse upon anyone who would  dare oppose this decree. Many popes have issued  decrees forbidding Bible reading in the common  language of the people, condemning Bible societies  and banning its possession and translation under  penalty of mortal sin and death. The Roman Catholic  Church has openly burned Bibles and those who  translated it or promoted its study, reading, and use. (John Hus, 1415 A.D.; William Tyndale, 1536 A.D.)” -Christian Equippers International

“to keep the world still in darkness,  to the intent they might sit through vain  superstition and false doctrine, to satisfy  their filthy lusts, their proud ambition,  and insatiable covetousness, and to exalt their  own honour… above God himself.”  –William Tyndale’s New Testament.  Worms (Germany), 1526 British Library C.188.a.17

“For 600 years the Roman Catholic Church  attempted to keep translations of the Bible  out of the hands of the people. Bible-believing people were mercilessly persecuted and their  Scriptures were destroyed. Those who possessed  Bibles without a license were commanded to  deliver them up to the Catholic authorities under threat of inquisition terrors. Booksellers  were forbidden to sell any Bibles except to  people who possessed a license from the Catholic church. Huge quantities of Scriptures in English,  Germany, Italian, French, Spanish, and in other  languages, were confiscated and destroyed  throughout the 13th to the 19th centuries.  Bible translators and distributors were imprisoned  and burned. Even after the Catholic inquisition  was outlawed in many lands in the 18th and 19th  centuries, the popes continued to condemn the free distribution of Scripture.” -ROME AND THE BIBLE:  TRACING THE HISTORY  OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH  AND ITS PERSECUTION OF THE BIBLE  AND OF BIBLE BELIEVERS, by David W. Cloud,  Way of Life Literature, copyright 1996.

Further recent evidence has proven that the Bible was once blacklisted by the Roman Catholic Church:

“Opened on Thursday alongside the Inquisition archives was the infamous Index of Forbidden Books, which Roman Catholics were forbidden to read or possess on pain of excommunication. They showed that even “the Bible” was once on the blacklist.Translations of the holy book ended up on the bonfires along with other “heretical” works…” -Vatican archives reveal Bible was once banned book , Jude Webber ROME, Jan 22, 1998 (Reuters)

According to John Dowling, the Roman Catholic Church burned Bibles in the United States, “no longer ago than October 27, 1842.” . Dowling stated that this was, “another instance of the intolerance of Popery, and its determined hatred to the bible in the vulgar [common] tongue.” and that the Jesuits were responsible. (See John Dowling, The History of Romanism, From the Earliest Corruptions of Christianity to the Present Time” 1853).

Protestant sources state that Christians were sometimes burned with their bible translations:

“During the Dark Ages (A.D. 500-1500), Rome burned Bibles along with their owners.” -The Baptist Pillar

During the last 600 years of this era the Roman Catholic Church began what is known as the Inquisition. During this time people were not generally allowed to learn to read and write:

“Only ten percent of people in the Roman Empire could read… and those were generally in the wealthy upper classes.” -River of God, Gregory J. Riley, pp. 66

“In Roman-dominated lands, the Bible was almost  an unknown book among the common people. The Bible  in Rome is a strange and rare book. Indeed very few of the common people know what we mean by the Bible.” -Rome and the Bible:  Tracing the History of the Roman Catholic Church and it’s Persecution of the Bible and of Bible Believers by David W. Cloud, 1996.

The Rev. John Wesley wrote of the Roman Church withholding the Bible from the people:

But the Church of Rome does not stop here. She not only makes tradition of equal authority with the Scripture, but also takes away the Scripture from the people, and denies them the use of it. For, soon after, her writers began to teach, yea, and assert in entire volumes, “that the Scripture is obscure, and hard to be understood; that it gives an handle to error and heresies; that it is not a perfect or sufficient rule of life; that it ought to be understood no otherwise than the Church, that is, the Pope, explains it; that, consequently the reading the Scripture is of more hurt than use to the generality of Christians.” And, in fact, they not only publicly spoke against the reading the Holy Scriptures, but in most countries absolutely forbid the laity to read them, yea, and the Clergy too, till they were ordered to preach. And if any did read it without a particular license, they condemned and punished it as a great crime.– John Wesley, The Advantage of members of the Church of England over those of the Church of Rome.