Dude...a Roman Catholic talking about legalism?
Roman Catholicism is probably one of the most legalistic denominations on the planet.
The Western church universally accepted the list of books declared by Pope Damasus I, the African councils, and included in the authorized Vulgate edition, since the 4th century.
Patently false.
Just repeating a point does not make it a fact.
Did not Pope Damasus I and the African councils list the books of the Bible?
Did not Pope Innocent I, writing to Bishop Exuperius of Toulouse in 405, confirm this same list?
Did not the Vulgate edition of the Bible authorized by Pope Damasus contain these same books?
Did not every edition of the Bible produced by the Catholic Church contain these same books since the 4th century?
Did not the Council of Florence confirm this same list in 1441?
Were not these books always included in the official liturgies of the Church as Scripture?
History is clear on this issue: the Catholic Church has accepted the list of books in the Bible as defined by Pope Damasus I and the North African councils since the 4th century. In reaffirming this list, the Council of Trend did not introduce anything that the Catholic Church did not already hold.
That did not go unnoticed.