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Online Edition: June-July 2011 Vol. XVII, No. 4

"Inspiration and Truth in the Bible"

Pope Benedict's Message to the Pontifical Biblical Commission
Inspiration and Truth in the Bible was the topic of the annual meeting of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, an international group of twenty biblical scholars that advises the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The sessions were held May 2-6 at the Vatican. Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the CDF, is also president of the Biblical Commission. Father Klemens Stock, SJ, secretary general of the commission, chaired the sessions. In his message to the commission on May 6, Pope Benedict stressed the importance of making known the Catholic position on the divine inspiration and truth of the Bible. An interpretation of the sacred writings that disregards or forgets their inspiration does not take into account their most important and precious characteristic, that they come from God, he said. The Holy Spirit inspired the biblical writers so that human words express the word of God. [English translation by Zenit news agency: zenit.org] *** To Venerable Brother Cardinal William Levada President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission I am pleased to send you, the secretary and all the members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission my cordial greeting on the occasion of this annual plenary assembly. The commission gathers for the third time to reflect on the topic entrusted to it: Inspiration and Truth of the Bible. This topic constitutes one of the main points of my postsynodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini, which treats it in the first part (cf. No. 19). I wrote in this document: A key concept for understanding the sacred text as the word of God in human words is certainly that of inspiration. It is precisely inspiration as the action of God that makes it possible to express the Word of God in human words. Consequently, the subject of inspiration is decisive for an adequate approach to the Scriptures and their correct interpretation (ibid.). In fact, an interpretation of the sacred writings that neglects or

forgets their inspiration does not take into account their most important and valuable characteristic, their provenance from God. Such an interpretation does not allow one to access the Word of God, and loses, therefore, the inestimable treasure that sacred Scripture contains for us. This kind of approach is concerned with merely human words, although they might be, in various ways according to diverse writings, words of extraordinary depth and beauty. The discussion on inspiration deals with the profound nature and decisive and distinctive meaning of sacred Scripture, namely, its quality as Word of God. In the same apostolic exhortation, moreover, I reminded that the Synod Fathers also stressed the link between the theme of inspiration and that of the truth of the Scriptures. A deeper study of the process of inspiration will doubtless lead to a greater understanding of the truth contained in the sacred books (ibid.). According to the conciliar constitution Dei Verbum, God addresses His word to us to to reveal Himself and to make known to us the hidden purpose of His will (cf. Ephesians 1:9) (No. 2). Through His Word, God wills to communicate to us all the truth about Himself and about the plan of salvation for humanity. The commitment to discover ever more the truth of the Sacred Books is equivalent therefore to seeking to know God more and more, and the mystery of His salvific will. Theological reflection has always considered inspiration and truth as two key concepts for an ecclesial hermeneutic of the sacred Scriptures. Nonetheless, one must acknowledge the need today for a fuller and more adequate study of these realities, in order better to respond to the need to interpret the sacred texts in accordance with their nature (Verbum Domini, No. 19). In addressing the subject Inspiration and Truth of the Bible, the Pontifical Biblical Commission is called to offer its specific and qualified contribution to this necessary study. In fact, it is essential and fundamental for the life and mission of the Church that the Sacred Texts be interpreted according to their nature: Inspiration and Truth are constitutive characteristics of this nature. That is why your commitment will have real usefulness for the life and mission of the Church. Finally, I would like to refer to the fact that for a good interpretation, it is not possible to apply in a mechanical way the criterion of inspiration, nor that of absolute truth, extrapolating a single phrase or expression. The context in which it is possible to perceive Holy Scripture as the Word of God is that of the unity of the history of God, in a totality in which individual elements are mutually illumined and opened to understanding. In wishing each one of you a fruitful pursuit of your works, I would like finally to manifest my heartfelt appreciation for the work carried out by the Biblical Commission to promote the knowledge, study, and reception of the Word of God in the world. With these sentiments I entrust each one of you to the maternal protection of the Virgin Mary, who with all the Church we invoke as Sedes Sapientiae [Seat of Wisdom], and from my heart I

impart to you, Venerable Brother, and to all the members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, a special Apostolic Blessing. From the Vatican, May 2, 2011 BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

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ADDRESS OF POPE FRANCIS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE PONTIFICAL BIBLICAL COMMISSION

Hall of the Popes Friday, 12 April 2013

Your Eminence, Venerable Brothers, Dear Members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission,
I am pleased to welcome you at the end of your Annual Plenary Assembly. I thank Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mller, your President, for his greeting and for his concise exposition of the theme which has been the object of attentive thought during your meeting. You have gathered together once again to deepen knowledge of a very important topic: the inspiration and the truth of the Bible. This is a theme that does not only concern the individual believer, but the entire Church, because the Churchs life and mission are founded on the word of God which is the soul of theology and at the same time inspires the whole of Christian life. As we know, the Sacred Scriptures are the written testimony of the divine word, the canonical memorial that testifies to the event of Revelation. The Word of God therefore precedes and exceeds the Bible. This is why our faith is not only centred on a book but on a history of salvation and above all on a Person, Jesus Christ, the Word of God made flesh. Precisely because the horizon of the divine word embraces and extends beyond Scripture, to understand it adequately the constant presence of the Holy Spirit is necessary, who will guide you into all the truth (Jn 16:13). We must put ourselves in line with the great Tradition which, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and of the Magisterium, recognized the canonical writings as a word which God addressed to his People and never ceased to meditate on them and to discover their inexhaustible riches. The Second Vatican Council reasserted very clearly in the Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum: All that has been said about the manner of interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the judgment of the Church which exercises the divinely conferred commission and ministry of watching over and interpreting the Word of God (n. 12).

As the above mentioned conciliar Constitution reminds us, there is an inseparable unity between Sacred Scripture and Tradition because both come from the same source: Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, then, are bound closely together, and communicate one with the other. For both of them, flowing out from the same divine well-spring, come together in some fashion to form one thing, and move towards the same goal. Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit. And Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the Apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the Apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching. Thus it comes about that the Church does not draw her certainty about all revealed truths from the Holy Scriptures alone. Hence, both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal feelings of devotion and reverence (ibid., n. 9). It follows that the exegete must be attentive to perceiving the word of God present in the biblical texts, fitting them into the Churchs faith itself. The interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures cannot only be an individual scientific effort. Rather, it must always be confronted, inserted and authenticated by the living Tradition of the Church. This rule is decisive in order to explain the correct and reciprocal relationship between exegesis and the Magisterium of the Church. The texts inspired by God were entrusted to the Community of believers, to the Church of Christ, to nourish faith and to guide the life of charity. Respect for this profound nature of the Scriptures conditions the validity and effectiveness of biblical hermeneutics. This highlights the inadequacy of every interpretation that is subjective or is limited merely to an analysis incapable of grasping that global meaning which in the course of the centuries has built up the Tradition of the entire People of God which in credendo falli nequit [cannot err in matters of belief] (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 12). Dear Brothers, I would like to end my address by expressing my thanks to you all and by encouraging you in your valuable work. May the Lord Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word of God and the divine Teacher who opened the minds and hearts of his disciples to understand the Scriptures (cf. Lk 24:45), always guide and support you in your activities. May the Virgin Mary, our model of docility and obedience to the Word of God, teach you to recognize fully the inexhaustible riches of Sacred Scripture, not only through intellectual research but also in prayer and in the whole of your life as believers, especially in this Year of Faith, so that your work may help make the light of Sacred Scripture shine in the hearts of the faithful. And, in wishing you a fruitful continuation of your work, I invoke upon you the light of the Holy Spirit and I impart to you all my Apostolic Blessing.