[Claud]

I do remember a time when Catholics were forbidden to read the Bible on their own.

You'll forgive me if I don't hold to your memory's infallibility. :)

Perhaps if you can produce a reference to said document....

[Dr. Eckleburg]

I had this debate three years ago on FR. Looking for "documentation" to back-up this well-known and long-accepted factoid turned out to be difficult.

The idea that Catholics were not permitted to read the Bible on their own prior to 1952-54 was accepted church teaching and agreed upon by dozens of Catholics I knew.

However, I think it's become like Mel Gibson's faith -- now viewed as extreme, but prior to 1964, it was mainstream American Catholicism.

Just more rewritten history, IMO. But I'll give you that any supporting documentation today is ambiguous.