Apocrypha of the Bible 

A collection of 14 books included in the vulgate of the Roman Catholic Church.  They are not included in the Old Testament of most other Religions.

The term 'apocrypha' at one time meant secret or hidden knowledge that was not to be shown to the uninitiated of a Religion. (From dictionary)

Religions seem to be very good at withholding information from their members who are not priests.  I guess that it helps keep the uninitiated under control and makes the initiated seem smarter. In government this would be referred to as classified information available only on a need to know basis.  Of course one's 'need to know' would be determined by someone who already knew the information.  Seems rather secretive for Religions.  It also seems odd that the Roman Catholic Church would include this information for the masses to read.  Makes one wonder what other information the priests have that they have not told their members.

Why have the Protestants not included this information in their version of the Old Testament?  Could the Protestants think that the information is fabricated to support an agenda of some kind, or just not important enough to include?  I have no clue at this time.  The Protestants probably also wish to keep a lot of information secret from the masses.