As much as freedom of expression is declining in the Western world, we can be grateful for the bubble we have enjoyed living in for quite some time. However, this blessing is not shared by many around the world. Here, we may be able to walk into a book shop and obtain a Bible, order one online, read it aloud in specially dedicated church buildings, or even host public Bible studies. However, around the world, more than 50 nations make it very difficult, if not nigh impossible, to safely obtain a Bible.
As shown in the map below, sourced by The Voice of the Martyrs, many countries, particularly those dominated by Islam, have either laws or cultural norms that prevent Christians from safely obtaining their own Bibles. But shockingly, this doesn't deter them from trying. Many of them are quite willing to risk death, which unfortunately is a very real possibility, for sake of hearing from the word of God.
But as strange as it sounds, Islam and militant atheism aren't the only philosophies that suppress the Bible in this manner. Ironically, in European history, it was actually the Catholic Church that suppressed the Bible.
This can be seen through the canons of numerous Catholic Councils. The Council of Toulouse (1229 A.D.), for example, states "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."
Above is just a standard example of many Catholic condemnations of the laity having free access to the Bible. Catholics do have a range of responses to this inconvenient fact of history. For example, they claim this was to prevent heresy. Karl Keating, for example, claims that the Council of Toulouse only banned the Bible to prevent the spread of the Albigensian heresy. I've yet to hear how Catholics think widespread access to the divinely inspired word of a God who cannot lie would help promote any kind of heresy, but this is how they argue.
Another counter claim is that while owning a Bible was met with punishment, the punishment was only excommunication. This doesn't seem to fit well with the desecration of John Wycliffe's remains or the public burning at the stake of William Tyndale, however. Anyone who isn't aware of the Catholic Church's historical mistreatment of those it considered heretics must live under a particularly large rock.
The inescapable fact is, access to the Bible was once just as heavily restricted by the Catholic Church as it presently is in Islamic nations. The reason for this seems obvious: An honest and objective study of the scriptures will make any man a "Protestant", as it has done quite successfully for more than 500 years. Furthermore, Christians who receive a Bible without Catholic interference do not seek out the Catholic Church, which is invisible in scripture, whereas anyone reading the Bible in any language will come to an understanding similar to that of "Protestants", the main difference being the complete absence of a Catholic Church to protest (this being the reason I personally do not identify as "Protestant").
The reason the Catholic Church forbade the personal ownership of scripture, the reason they prevented its translation into the "vulgar tongue", the reason they stole and burned such translations, the reason they murdered so many martyrs for the "crime" of giving God's word to the people, is because the Catholic Church has been so historically anti-Christian that it simply cannot allow people to study the Christian Holy book!
But thanks to the Reformation, the Bible did spread far and wide. On top of becoming widely available, education rates also rose, meaning more people were able to study it. The Catholic Church lost its stranglehold on the transmission of religious information, and so now it can throw as much of a tantrum as it wants, we have full access to the Bible in virtually any language we speak. There is nothing the Catholic Church can do to stop Christians, or indeed anyone, from obtaining a Bible.
Unfortunately, they can use psychological warfare to make Catholics not want to study the Bible. They may no longer be able to stop a Catholic obtaining a Bible in their language, but they can still make them think it is some grievous sin to interpret it in a non-Catholic way. Much like a cult, they can discourage discussions that may lead to non-Catholic conclusions. In fact, according to the Council of Trent (1545-1563 A.D.), Catholics are flat out banned from relying on their own skill or senses to interpret scripture contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church. In other words, you and I are supposedly too stupid to understand the meaning of words on a page (which is what you're doing now, by the way), you must instead submit to the imaginary authority of the Catholic Magisterium.
In many ways, the Catholic Church greatly mirrors the Jewish community in the time of Christ and the Apostles. Dedication to their traditions blinds them to the truth of scripture, even to the point of causing them to disobey God (Matthew 15:3). Christ Himself warned that men who killed His people would believe they had done God some great service (John 16:2). Back then, it was the Jews. Closer to our time, it was the Catholics. In the modern day, at least in the West, we need not fear the death of the body, but the Catholic Church still kills the mind, and with it, the spirit.
One thing we see when we open scripture, however, is that real Apostles did not behave in such a disgraceful manner. They encouraged (1 Thessalonians 5:21; 1 John 4:1), submitted to (Acts 17:11), and commanded us to reject them if they failed (Galatians 1:8) the test of scripture. They did not believe they had some kind of authority over the Bible, but rather, they believed the Bible had the authority over them, because it is the word of God, and to violate it is actual blasphemy.
Throwing insults around is nothing to take lightly, but if Christ can call the Pharisees a brood of vipers (Matthew 12:34), and Paul can tell the Judaisers to castrate themselves (Galatians 5:12), I feel minimal guilt in saying this: Catholics who will not study the Bible, given all the blood that was shed so they may be able to, are cowards. Christians in Africa, the Middle East, North Korea, and many other locations, are literally giving up their lives so they and their loved ones can have access to God's word. Point a gun at their heads and say "give up your Bible", they'll be with their Savior in 5 minutes. But a Catholic living in near perfect comfort will let their Bibles gather dust on a shelf, and if the Catholic Church came out tomorrow and said "give up your Bible", they would say "bin it or burn it?" Cowardice. Complete and utter cowardice. God gave us Bibles for a reason, and with so much blood and tears being shed to bring it to us, it is a disgrace for us not to study it.
My Catholic friends, pick up your Bibles and study. My advice is to start with Psalm 119. Once you've done that and realised you've been lied to by "Holy Mother Church", start reading the rest of scripture. You'll soon see that there is no Pope in Christianity, Mary is neither Queen of Heaven nor co-mediatrix, Christ's sacrifice was final and need not be repeated every Sunday, Purgatory does not exist, and most importantly, salvation is by grace through faith and not of works. It is Christ, and Christ alone, who saves you. He does not receive help from Mary, no one else's meritorious works count towards you, you cannot earn indulgences, the 7 Sacraments are not means of grace. Merely repent, confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead. If you do that, Romans 10:9 tells us you will be saved. Salvation, far from being a wage given through the Catholic Church, is a gift given by God.