With Due Respect: Did the Protestants/Catholics remove/add books to the Bible?

If you compare the Bible that the Roman Catholics use and the one that Protestants use, you will notice that the books are slightly different. The seven books excluded in the Protestant Bible are known as the Deuterocanonical books (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, plus parts of Esther and Daniel).

I have often been asked if the books were removed by the Protestants or added by the Roman Catholics. The truth is much more complicated than that simple answer.

The historicity of the text

Part of the Septuagint but not Hebrew Masoretic Text

The Deuterocanonical books were part of the Septuagint, a Greek translation of Jewish scriptures from the 3rd–2nd century BC, widely used by Hellenistic Jews (Greek Jews) and early Christians. The New Testament frequently quotes or alludes to the Septuagint (e.g., Hebrews 11:35 referencing 2 Maccabees 7), suggesting its authority in the early Church. Catholics saw this as evidence of their inspired status, as the Septuagint was the Bible of the apostolic era.

However, the Protestant Reformers claimed that these books that were not part of the Hebrew Masoretic Text, finalized by Jewish scholars around the 1st century CE. The Deuterocanonical books were not universally accepted by all Jewish communities.

The reception of early Christians
Accepted but universally accepted

Early Church Fathers like Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Augustine cited them as authoritative. Regional councils, such as Hippo (393) and Carthage (397), included them in their Old Testament canons, reflecting widespread use in liturgy and teaching. Catholics viewed this consistent tradition as affirming their canonicity.

However  some prominent Church writers rejected the Deuterocanonical books. Jerome (347 -420), who translated the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate), questioned the canonicity of the Deuterocanonical books. In his prefaces to the Vulgate, he noted that these books were not in the Hebrew canon and labeled them "apocryphal," though he included them in his translation at the Church’s request. For example, in his preface to the Books of Samuel and Kings, he listed the Hebrew canon as authoritative but acknowledged the Church’s use of the Deuterocanonical books for edification, not doctrine.

Athanasius of Alexandria (296–373) was also sceptical of the books. In his 39th Festal Letter (367), which lists the canonical books, Athanasius excluded the Deuterocanonicals from the Old Testament canon, though he included Baruch and omitted Esther. He considered the others "useful for instruction" but not on par with inspired scripture.

The theology of it all
Deuterocanonical books affirm Catholic practices 

The Deuterocanonical books supported doctrines central to Catholic theology. For example, 2 Maccabees 12:44–46 endorses prayers for the dead, aligning with Catholic beliefs in purgatory and intercession. Wisdom 2:12–20 contains messianic imagery that Catholics saw as prefiguring Christ.

The Catholic Church at the Council of Trent (1546) formally reaffirmed the Deuterocanonical books as inspired scripture, standardizing the canon to counter Protestant claims and defend Catholic doctrine. 

On the other hand, the Protestant principle of sola scriptura (scripture alone) emphasized a clear, authoritative canon as the sole basis for doctrine. Reformers sought to streamline the Bible to texts they believed were indisputably inspired, excluding those with debated or uncertain status to avoid reliance on tradition, which they associated with Catholic authority.

Conclusion
The Roman Catholics included the Deuterocanonical books because they were found in the Septuagint. They see the books as NOT an addition but a codification of a long-standing tradition.

The Protestant Reformers did not see the exclusion of the books as a removal, but an attempt to have a pure Jewish canon determined in Hebrew