Not to mention that 'reading your own Bible' was traditionally frowned upon by some church denominations
Another aspect of brainwashing technique it would seem.
Actually, reading the Bible once most people became literate was never really frowned upon by the Roman Catholic Church. People were welcome to do so and sometimes encouraged to. There just wasn't as much encouragement to read and study the Bible as there is in most Protestant churches. Most Catholics thought they got enough of the Bible from the passages read during the Mass. Besides, they were told what else the church taught that they must believe, so why bother reading the Bible?
What they were not permitted to do was to think very much about what it actually said in many places and that sometimes the church's teachings didn't exactly reflect what was said in its Bible.
A Catholic is supposed to believe fervently both what is said in the Bible without questioning it and to do the same with whatever else they're told the church hierarchy says they must believe. That's where the convenient dogma about papal infallibility comes into play--If it's something that is declared to be the Pope speaking infallibly, then Catholics absolutely must believe it as if it came directly from God. It must be believed that the Pope speaks for God when he proclaims whatever it is to be an infallible teaching.
It's a very intricate system that works to coerce Catholics into going along with whatever they're told a "good Catholic" believes, because of course, you want to be a good Catholic.
