[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Captain Powell's letter furnishes
further evidence of the well-established fact that most, if not all, of the criticism levelled at the Catholic Church by non-Catholics is founded upon ignorance or misunderstanding of her actual teaching and practices. He maintains that Catholics are denied access to Holy Writ and that " priests are at pains to suppress the Bible." The all-important point which the Captain has over-• looked is that the Church prohibits, quite naturally, the reading, by the faithful, - of the Protestant versions of the Bible only and condemns the dissemination of these versions, because she cannot regard them as possessing the seal of authenticity. • .
The facts are that the Catholic (or Douai) version of the Bible can be bought by anybody at any Catholic bookseller, or repository, and that just inside the door of any Catholic• church copies of the Gospels, &c., are displayed for sale, at the price of 2d., so that even the poorest can afford to possess
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