Saturday, March 20, 2021

The Constitution of Leo XIII

"The German Catholic paper, the Markirche Kirchen-blatt..... After deprecating the idea that the Catholic Church desires to keep the Bible from falling into the hands of its members, it says:
"It is true that the reading of the Scriptures in the vernacular has not been allowed to the laity unconditionally, but only under certain
fixed limitations
This order is the outcome of the experience of centuries, which has gradually resulted in a certain discipline in the matter.Therefore, in accordance with the constitution of Leo XIII of January 25, 1897, under a penalty to be determined by the bishop, and as a great sin, it is forbidden to the average Catholic to read or to have in his possession any edition or copy of the Scriptures in a translation, even if this translation has been done by members of the Catholic Church, unless this work has had the express approval of the Holy See, or has also certain comments of a proper kind, and unless the bishop has given consent to its being printed....
The views of the Protestants are entirely different on this subject, for they consider that right of reading the Bible something that may not be denied them, and that every Christian has a right to search the Scriptures. But this is a mistake. The Holy Bible, as the Word of God, is too important to permit its abuse."
 
This last statement is most true; 
but the greatest possible abuse of the Bible is its disuse.  
 
....and the Word is not thought so much of in the Protestant
world as when it
was unsafe to read it
 
Inasmuch as it is God’s own Word that the Pope forbids men to read without his permission, he speaks without authority, for the Lord says, Revelation 13 Blessed is he that reads. 
The apostles are dead, but in words that still live by inspiration of God, Peter, in both of his epistles, especially exhorts the people to be “mindful of” and to desire the “sincere milk of the Word.” 
2 Peter 3:2 That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets.  
2 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby...." E.J. Waggoner