"no one, relying on his own skill, shall,--in matters of faith, and of morals pertaining to the edification of Christian doctrine,--wresting the sacred Scripture to his own senses, presume to interpret the said sacred Scripture contrary to that sense which holy mother Church,--whose it is to judge of the true sense and interpretation of the holy Scriptures,--hath held and doth hold," - Trent, Session 4, "Decree Concerning the Edition, and the Use, of the Sacred Books"
The attitude of the Catholic Church regarding the scriptures is as backwards as you can get. In Catholic Theology, it is not the scriptures that are used to judge the Church, but the Church who has exclusive authority to interpret the scriptures. Without doubt, this is the centre of all disputes between Christians and Catholics*. Whereas a Christian places the Bible in its correct place as sole and sufficient authority, testing all things according to what is written, Catholics are locked into a vain philosophy wherein if a scripture opposes the Church, the Church is not to be questioned, but the relevant scripture is to be reinterpreted.
But no book should ever be interpreted this way. The Bible wasn't designed to affirm the authority of the Catholic Church, but to give understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130), to make us wise to salvation, to teach us sound doctrine, to reprove those who are behaving inappropriately, to correct false doctrine, and to train us in righteousness, completing us and equipping us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:15-17). In other words, it was intended for every individual to have a written manual so that no one can deceive us. The Bible, just like any other book, has a purpose, and it should be read according to that purpose.
But in true cult-like fashion, the Church of Rome refuses to acknowledge the book-like nature of the book whose title literally means "the book"! According to this "one true Church", the Bible is too cryptic for you simple minded peasants. It wasn't designed to give understanding to the simple. You don't even have the right to interpret it contrary to the interpretation of the Catholic Church, even if the Catholic Church's interpretation is blatantly and demonstrably wrong. In fact, the Council of Toulouse declared "We prohibit also that the laity should be permitted to have the books of the Old or New Testament; unless anyone from motive of devotion should wish to have the Psalter or the Breviary for divine offices or the hours of the blessed Virgin; but we most strictly forbid their having any translation of these books."
But it didn't end in 1229. The Council of Oxford dictated in 1408 that "It is dangerous, as St. Jerome declares, to translate the text of Holy Scriptures out of one idiom into another, since it is not easy in translations to preserve exactly the same meaning in all things. We therefore command and ordain that henceforth no one translate the text of Holy Scripture into English or any other language as a book, booklet, or tract, of this kind lately made in the time of the said John Wyclif or since, or that hereafter may be made, either in part or wholly, either publicly or privately, under pain of excommunication, until such translation shall have been approved and allowed by the Provincial Council. He who shall act otherwise let him be punished as an abettor of heresy and error." (Emphasis mine).
The result of this is that in 1415, John Wycliffe was described as "that pestilent wretch of damnable heresy who invented a new translation of the scriptures in his mother tongue", and his remains were exhumed and publicly burned. William Tyndale was not so lucky. When he was burned in 1536, he was not long dead. Rather, he was executed for the very crime we have just discussed. He had dared to translate the New Testament (he was unfortunately betrayed before he could translate the whole Old Testament) without the permission of the Catholic Church. Tyndale's motives for doing so were clear. He got into an argument with Bishop John Bell, who stated that it was better to be without God's laws than the Pope's (!!!). Tyndale's response was utterly legendary: "I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause the boy that drives the plow to know more of the scriptures than you!"
The Catholic Church has long since lost its political power to persecute those who dare to oppose it, and given that Bible translations exist in a plethora of different languages, it's fair to say they've lost that battle too (thank God). But that doesn't stop them from trying to hold what little power they have left. They still preach that only they have the authority and ability to correctly interpret the Bible. There is a perfectly good reason for this. It is a reason that is obvious to non-Catholics. That simple reason is that the Roman Catholic Church is not Biblical. When people finally had easy access to the scriptures in their own language, they stopped believing Rome. Even today, a number of ex-Catholics attribute their exodus to just reading the Bible and realising that what they read in God's word wasn't the same as what they were being taught by Rome's Church.
Bible possession was once banned by the Catholic Church. Bible translation was once punishable by death by the Catholic Church. Interpreting the Bible by the basic principles of hermeneutics as opposed to blindly believing the doctrines of "Holy Mother Church" is still heavily frowned upon by the Roman Catholic Church. At this point, it's a wonder Catholics even bother to read the Bible at all. What's the point? If it's so unbelievably difficult to understand that the only way to understand it is to entrust it to the authority of sinful men, there is no point. You might as well just surrender your Bible to the Catholic Church so they can burn it, then let them tell you what it says, 1229 style.
This attitude is so strong in the Catholic Church that this article will likely offend many Catholics. How dare I blaspheme the Church? (Yes, some of them have genuinely said that to me). But this is not my intention. My intention is to show Catholics that they have been lied to, and to instead urge them to seek the truth. The Catholic Church does not have the authority to interpret the Bible for you. God gave you a brain, and He has even blessed you, through the blood and tears of His faithful servants, with easy access to His scriptures. He has given you everything you need to test all things and hold on to that which is good, and He commands you to do so (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Furthermore, true teachers will submit to this test. For example, in Acts 17:11, the Berean Jews searched the scriptures daily to test Paul. So, unless you believe the Catholic Church is more authoritative than Paul, read the scriptures, without the aid of the Catholic Church, and watch as it fails the test of scripture over and over again. A simple question to ask yourself is this: "If I was not a Catholic, would I read this passage this way?"
The bad news for Catholics is that you have swallowed the lies of the Catholic Church. The good news is that there is an easily accessible truth. The Bible you hold in your hands can be interpreted without the aid of the Catholic Church, and it presents a far better Gospel. One that is truly worthy of the name "Gospel" (meaning "good news"). You should already know half of it. You're a sinner, you deserve God's wrath, but Jesus died on the cross to take that wrath on your behalf, and when He rose, He made it possible for you to rise with Him. But here's what the Catholic Church won't tell you: that's completely free! It's a gift! It's by grace, through faith, not of yourself (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 11:6). There are no "mortal" and "venial" sins, there is only sin (James 2:10), and Jesus took all of that from you once and for all (Hebrews 7:27). He advocates on your behalf (1 John 2:1). There is no "Purgatory" (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Philippians 1:23), no condemnation for those who are in Jesus (Romans 8:1) and no chance of a faithful Christian going to Hell (1 John 5:13). My Catholic friends, we serve such a Holy God that our salvation depends entirely on Him. You are too filthy to gain it (Isaiah 64:6), and He is too faithful for you to lose it (1 John 1:9). That's far greater than anything the cult** of Rome can offer you.
*Disclaimer: Although I made a dichotomy in the post, this does not mean I believe there are no Christians in the Catholic Church. The official position of this ministry is that there are true Christians in every denomination, but that there are no true Christian denominations. Rather, denominations are more or less true depending on their Biblical accuracy. Churches that blatantly contradict the scriptures, especially if they do so consistently, are heretical. The dichotomy made in this post is made for clarification, not as a blanket attack on Catholics.
**Generally speaking, I am hesitant to call Catholicism a cult, but based on my studies of Catholicism, and the behaviour of those who defend it, I have come to the conclusion that the main reason it is not officially considered a cult is that there are too many believers. Everything else, from the type of unrealistic and strange teachings it presents to the "no questions, just obey" attitude we have discussed today, mirrors every other cult in many ways.