ion of the Bible ever published
after the invention of printing was the edition of Martin Luther. The fact
is, that before Luther put his pen to paper, no fewer than fifty-six
editions of the Scriptures had appeared on the continent of Europe, not to
speak of those printed in Great Britain. Of those editions, twenty-one
were published in German, one in Spanish, four in French, twenty-one in
Italian, five in Flemish and four in Bohemian.

Coming down to our own times, if you open an English Catholic Bible you
will find in the preface a letter of Pope Pius VI., in which he strongly
recommends the pious reading of the Holy Scriptures. A Pope's letter is
the most weighty authority in the Church. You will also find in Haydock's
Bible the letters of the Bishops of the United States, in which they
express the hope that this splendid edition would have a wide circulation
among their flocks.

These facts ought, I think, to convince every candid mind that the Church,
far from being opposed to the reading of the Scriptures, does all she can
to encourage their perusal.

A gentleman of North Carolina lately informed me that the first time he
entered a Catholic bookstore he was surprised at witnessing on the shelves
an imposing array of Bibles for sale. Up to that moment he had believed
the unfounded charge that Catholics were forbidden to read the Scriptures.
He has since embraced the Catholic faith.

And perhaps I may be permitted here to record my personal experiences
during a long course of study. I speak of myself, not because my case is
exceptional, but, on the contrary, because my example will serve to
illustrate the system pursued toward ecclesiastical students in all
colleges throughout the Catholic world in reference to the Holy
Scriptures.

In our course of Humanities we listened every day to the reading of the
Bible. When we were advanced to the higher branches of Philosophy and
Theology the study of the Sacred Scriptures formed an important part of
our education. We read, besides, every day a chapter of the New Testament,
not standing or sitting, but on our knees, and then reverently kissed the
inspired page. We listened at our meals each day to selections from the
Bible, and we always carried about with us a copy of the New Testament.

So familiar, indeed, were the students with the sacred Volume that many of
them, on listening to a few verses, could tell from what portion of the
Scriptures you were reading. The o