Does the print in bold type remind you guys of another Organisation you can think of??????????
Was the Catholic Church an Avowed Enemy of Scripture
. . . Was it really fear of false doctrine that caused the Church to object to the Scriptures being in the hands of the laity? Undoubtedly there were some to whom this was a major consideration, for there were priests and bishops who were genuinely concerned for the spiritual welfare of their parishioners. For others, however, the nature of the objections suggests that there was also a fear of challenged authority. We must remember that at this time the Church's power was not only religious but also political. Dissension within the ranks threatened stability. In the Church's opposition to the population's receiving and using Scripture, Church leaders revealed contempt for the populace and a guiding fear of challenged power . . .
The Council of Toulouse in 1229 explicitly forbade the laity from possessing the Scriptures in any language. Certain devotional books were permitted but only in Latin, not in translation.
We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old or the New Testament; unless anyone from motives 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.
A church manual written in the 14th century by Jacopo Passavanti, a Dominican from Florence,
explains another reason why Scripture is obscure. Simply stated, Scripture is not enough.
Church tradition must be taught along with the basics of Scripture. The laity must receive their teaching from the Church in order to get the complete picture of what is necessary for salvation.
Furthermore, there are limits regarding how deep their study of Scripture should go.
Each Christian is bound to have some knowledge of holy scripture, and each according to the
state and condition and rank that he holds; for in one manner should the priest and guide of
souls know it, and in another manner the master and doctor and preacher, those who ought to
step down into the deep sea of scripture, and know and understand the hidden mysteries.And
in yet another manner the laity and unlettered parish priests are bound to have it, to whom it
is sufficient to know in general the ten commandments, the articles of the faith, the
sacraments of the Church, the sins, and ecclesiastical ordinances, the doctrine of the holy
gospel, as far as is necessary to their salvation.