t accordance with the creed which
declares that 'to the holy Mother Church it belongs to judge of the true
sense and interpretation of the Holy Scriptures,' but inconsistent with
the principle held by us, that no man has the power of judging for
another or the right to prescribe the opinions of another. 'What then is
to be done,' it is asked, 'with those who cannot read for themselves?'
They must take what they can obtain from their pastors, or from any
other medium of communication. If the medium be as faithful as human
fallibility allows, much truth may be learned and the means of holiness
may be abundantly afforded: but yet the learner is precluded by his
ignorance from the full enjoyment of his Christian liberty; and to hang
on the lips of his instructor is far, very far from being the same thing
as reading the Scriptures for himself.

Such a 'wise economy' as Fenelon speaks of seems to us but a fleshly
wisdom, a narrow policy originated by men, discountenanced by God, and
available to perpetuate, not the Gospel itself, but the corruptions
which were early mixed with it, and which will not stand the test of
examination. Who was to decide what 'parts were suited to their wants?'
Who knoweth the things of a man, but the spirit of a man which is in
him? Who gave the power of prohibition to read the Scriptures over such
as 'were not disposed to read them to their advantage?' Who was to
judge of the disposition; who could discern the tendency of inquiry; who
could estimate the advantage and disadvantage of the results? How dared
the Church to 'withhold from the laity the perusal of the Bible without
permission of their pastors,' from the assumption that it was 'unsafe to
allow the people at large to read the sacred text?' How unsafe? For the
Gospel itself? The Divine care would have provided a preventive or a
remedy, if the danger had been real. For the honor of God? He would have
made provision for its vindication. For the spiritual welfare of the
people? It could not have been injured by the free use of the means
ordained to perfect it: nor was it ever the province of pastors to
promote that welfare by other means than the Gospel authorizes. And
where is the patent for the monopoly of the Scriptures to be found? But
it is alleged that there are many passages in the sacred volume which,
being hard to be understood, are wrested by the unstable and the
ignorant to the destruction of the purity of their faith. True. But the