That came about in the sixties with Vatican II, didn’t it?
Prior to that point, Catholics were forbidden to even read the Protestant Bible. Catholics were forbidden to express support for religious freedom, speaking specifically of John Courtney Murray, that being the most high profile instance in the modern era, but there were certainly others. Those Christians outside the Catholic church were deemed heretic and unsaved.
While it does my heart good to see you guys embracing religious freedom, since it’s better late than never even if it was two centuries overdue (and it was), invariably the same individuals rail against Vatican II which brought this about.
Quite the twist some Catholics find themselves in, I’d say.
Catholics have never been forbidden to read the Bible. It was the Catholic Church that canonized and commissioned the production of a Bible in the common language of Europe in the 4th century. Although some heretical translations were prohibited, no Bible accepted by any mainstream Protestant denomination today was ever on the list.
For the record, Fr. John Courtney Murray was silenced not because of his position on eccumenicalism but because of his advocacy for birth control and abortion and toleration of politicians who supported it.
The Church has always been an advocate for religious liberty because it has so often been the victim of those opposed to it.
Peace be with you.