Church Documents

What they say about the Bible

The bishop of Rome

From time to time, the bishop of Rome publishes a document on Scripture. Here are links to two significant recent documents.

Pope Francis
St Jerome: 16th centenary of his death
The 16th centenary of the death of St Jerome fell on 30th September 2020. For the occasion, Pope Francis has published a document marking the anniversary. It combines a biography of the great bible scholar with a new affirmation of the importance of the Bible in the life of the church today.

To see the document, you have a choice:

1. The Vatican Website.
2. A prepared PDF edition from www.tarsus.ie.

2019
Sunday of the Word of God (Establishing the feast of the Word of God)

2019
Christ is alive (Letter to young people)

2012
The Joy of the Gospel (Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Francis)

Pope Benedict

2010
The Word of God (Post-Synodal Exhortation of Benedict XVI)

VATICAN II

1965
Dei Verbum

BISHOPS OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES

2005
The Gift of Scripture

The Pontifical Biblical Commission

The Pontifical Biblical Commission publishes position papers and documents from time to time.

Since the Vatican II, these have proved immensely helpful. On their website, the documents are presented in chronological order, starting with the earliest. For the more recent papers, you need to scroll down. For convenience (and also to have them in English), here are links to four very useful studies as well an an earlier report to the Commission on the possibility of ordaining women as priests.

2014
The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture

2008
The Bible and Morality

2001
The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible

1993
The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church

1976
Can Women Be Priests?

Documents from other Churches and Christian Traditions

ANGLICAN COMMUNION

A summary of teaching on Scriptures

ORTHODOX CHURCH OF AMERICA

The Bible

WORLD LUTHERAN FEDERATION

Pauline Hermeneutics

US Catholic Bishops

People ask if everything Catholics believe is found in the Bible. The answer? Both “yes” and “no.” The Church “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the Holy Scriptures alone” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] no. 82 Dei Verbum 9). Jesus is the ultimate Source of everything Catholics believe, for he reveals God’s plan to save the world from sin as he reveals the Father’s love. Jesus does this because he is the Son of God. He is always united with his Father and thus is the fullness of both Revelation.

The mission of Jesus continues through the ministry of the Church that he founded, and he has given the Church the inspiration of the Holy Spirit for guidance in everything. The Revelation of Jesus is thus extended to the Apostles and handed on through two means: Sacred Scripture and Tradition.

Sacred Scripture is the inspired word of God, the collection of sacred books that hand on the truth of Revelation in written form.

Tradition, as understood by the Church, is more than a collection of customs or time-honored habits. It encompasses the Church’s teaching, life and worship. The living apostolic Tradition highlights the fact that the Apostles received the words and deeds of Jesus who passed on the authority to teach in his name. “Tradition transmits, in its entirety, the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit” (CCC no 81; Dei Verbum 9).

The Bible reveals that God fulfilled his saving plan of love to free us from sin. The culmination of the entire Bible are the words and deeds of Jesus, in particular his Passion, death and glorious Resurrection.