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“Why don’t they (Catholics) have bibles in churches?”

Three Reasons:

-Because everyone should have a Bible at home.

-Because the Priest and Lector reads from the Gospel Book, Evangelion, or Book of the Gospels which is a codex or bound volume containing one or more of the four Gospels of the Christian New Testament – normally all four – centering on the life of Jesus of Nazareth and the roots of the Christian faith.

-And finally in each pew are a number Missals or small booklet, which contains the Order of the Mass, Daily Readings, Psalm Responses, Catholic songs and prayers and the Gospel reading for the Day, all of which come from the new or Old Testament.

The reason Gospel readings or lectionaries are preselected by the Vatican’s year in advance is because the Pope, since Vatican II, organizes the readings on a three-year cycle: Year A is the year of Matthew, Year B is Mark, and Year C is Luke. The Gospel of John is used each year at Christmas, Lent, and Easter, as well as to round out Year B, since Mark is short.

Not every passage of the New or Old Testament is read, but there are plans to change this process.

I hope that answers your question on the reason one does not see a Bible in the pews. Every Parishioner is given a Bible either when they satisfy the requirements to receive the sacrament of Holy Communion or Confirmation. There is also no rule prohibiting a parishioner to bring their personal Bible to Mass, some do, some don’t.