The Church-Owned Bible

It's easy to kick around "fundamentalists," and I agree with the posts below (here and here) to the extent they warn of the dangers accompanying an individualist, privatized approach to the interpretation of scripture.  However, there is a more pressing danger among Catholics, I believe, in that very few individuals think scripture reading outside church is even necessary.  I vividly recall talking with a Catholic who openly condemned the practice of individual bible study among Catholics, emphasizing that "The Church owns the Bible!"  Indeed, as this 2001 poll reflects, only 23% of Catholics read the Bible outside of church within the past week.  (That's more than 30 points below Protestants and only 14 points above atheists.)  Certainly fundamentalists need to rediscover tradition and community in their approach to scripture; they could, however, teach Catholics a thing or two about the study and knowledge of scripture as a centerpiece of an individual's faith formation.

Rob