Timothy A. Lenchak, SVD
How the Bible Has Functioned in Roman Catholic Mission

 

The Roman Catholic Church is not particularly known for its use of the Bible in mission and ministry. It has a reputation for discouraging — even forbidding — the reading of Sacred Scripture. In the post-Reformation period the church’s missionary strategy laid no particular stress on translating, publishing, and distributing the sacred text.

However, it is not accurate to state that Catholic missionaries ignored the Word of God. A particular understanding of Sacred Scripture plus other missionary priorities tended to de-emphasize the Bible. Yet it was never completely neglected. To some extent one can even say that the Catholic Church’s missionary activity has always been Bible-centered, for 1) Scripture served to motivate the missionaries themselves; 2) biblical texts have always played an important role in the church’s liturgy; and 3) the Bible has even served as a means of evangelization — although usually in an indirect way.

 

1. The Bible and Mission before the Twentieth Century

The Catholic Church has a strong hierarchical tradition. The pope and the bishops are expected to provide pastoral guidance in all areas of Christian living. Thus various popes have issued directives and established policies for missionary activity.

In 1622 Pope Gregory XV established a department (congregation) of the Roman curia which was responsible for promoting and directing all Catholic missionary activity. It was called Propaganda Fide or "Propagation of the Faith." Its duties were to recruit missionaries, organize their activities, and establish missionary policies. Early decrees gave emphasis to the training and formation of missionaries, to inculturation, and to missionary praxis. Little was said about the Bible.

But there is at least one indication that Sacred Scripture was not totally ignored. Soon after its foundation Propaganda Fide set up a printing press. Among the reasons cited for its establishment was the necessity of producing Bibles for missionaries. Unfortunately other priorities prevented the press from becoming a leader in the printing of Bibles. But one of its early achievements was the publication of a three-volume Arabic Bible in 1671 which took almost fifty years to complete.

There were also other efforts by Roman Catholics to translate and publish Sacred Scripture. In 1513 the Psalms were published in Ge’ez (an Ethiopian language), followed by the entire New Testament in 1548. The Jesuits received permission from Pope Paul V to translate the Bible into Chinese in 1615 but failed to follow through on the project. Nevertheless at least the Sunday Gospels were translated into Chinese by 1642. (However, it is uncertain if this work was ever actually used in the liturgy.) St. Francis Xavier is said to have translated some sections of the Bible into Japanese in 1549-1551, and the Jesuits had completed the New Testament by 1613. However, these translations perished when the missionaries were expelled from Japan in the seventeenth century.

Portuguese missionaries in the sixteenth century also translated some sections of the Bible into the local languages of Sri Lanka. The Catholic Church in Korea owed its origins to biblical texts translated into Korean from Chinese. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Catholic editions of the New Testament or of the entire Bible appeared in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Khmer, Hindi, etc. With a few exceptions, however, there was little effort to translate Sacred Scripture into African languages.

In 1629 Propaganda Fide decided that no book could be printed at its press without a special decree. In 1655 it prohibited the printing of any book by missionaries without written permission. Missionary policies tended to favor the publication of catechisms and other explanations of the Christian faith. As a result the translation of the Bible into vernacular languages never became a Catholic priority.

Roman Catholic missionaries before 1900 accepted the common opinion of their church that the Bible had to be read with special care. The clergy and scholars were expected to know the biblical text well, and missionaries were well trained in Sacred Scripture. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) actually decreed the integration of Scripture with teaching, formation, and preaching. However, the average Catholic priest in Europe and elsewhere did not own a copy of the Bible. Access to God’s Word usually came through the lectionary, the breviary, and other liturgical books.

The faithful, moreover, were seldom encouraged to read the Bible. Their knowledge of Sacred Scripture was often limited to what they heard during the liturgy. The Council of Trent neither encouraged nor forbade translations into the vernacular. But its proclamation of the Vulgate as the official text of the Roman Catholic Church limited its use to those who could read and understand Latin. The church’s hostility toward Protestant editions of Sacred Scripture also created the impression that reading the Bible was something Protestant and therefore suspect.

The frequent strong warnings against misuse of Scripture and prohibitions of unauthorized editions gave most average Catholics little impression of a wide open access to Scriptures. The once frequent Protestant contention that Catholics are forbidden to read the Bible was, therefore, not without basis. While biblical studies by scholars and clergy were encouraged and promoted, the same can hardly be said about the access of the faithful to Scripture.

 

2. The Bible and Mission in the Twentieth Century

A. Before Vatican II. The Catholic Church’s attitude toward the Bible began to change in 1893, when Pope Leo XIII wrote Providentissimus Deus. This encyclical encouraged Catholic scholars to take seriously a modern scientific examination of the biblical text. In 1920 Pope Benedict XV issued Spiritus Paraclitus, which encouraged the laity to read Sacred Scripture (especially the New Testament) frequently. In 1943 Pius XII, in his encyclical Divinu Afflante Spiritu, not only permitted but even encouraged the historical-critical study of the Bible. This gave rise to a renewed interest in the Bible during the 1950's.

B. Dei Verbum. Nevertheless, Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum) was truly revolutionary. It departed from traditional philosophic and apologetic approaches to Sacred Scripture and added a necessary pastoral dimension to its use by the church. Dei Verbum insisted that "easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful" (22). It reminded the church that not only the Eucharist but also Sacred Scripture was a source of spiritual nourishment for clergy, religious, and laity:

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of God’s word and of Christ’s body. (21)

Dei Verbum also reminded Catholics that the preaching, theology, and prayer life of the church had to be based on and nourished by the Word of God.

Dei Verbum acknowledged the hunger for the Word of God that had been growing in the Catholic Church and also sparked various popular renewal movements characterized by their desire to become more familiar with the Bible. Numerous documents issued by the Vatican, by bishops’ conferences, by individual bishops, and by biblical assemblies have emphasized and developed the concerns of Dei Verbum.

One immediate consequence of this return-to-the-Bible movement initiated by Leo XIII and culminating in Vatican II was the change in the Catholic attitude toward translating the biblical text. The translation and publication of portions, New Testaments, and even complete Bibles by Catholics grew tremendously throughout the twentieth century. Dei Verbum even suggested that "editions of the Sacred Scriptures provided with suitable footnotes, should be prepared also for the use of non-Christians and adapted to their situation" (25). Unfortunately this is one suggestion of the document which has been neglected.

Unable and unwilling to compete with the Bible Societies, Catholic Church policy since Vatican II has generally been to cooperate in producing interconfessional translations of Scripture. In fact, this is now the church’s preferred method for translating the biblical text. The Vatican’s Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and the United Bible Societies issued joint guidelines for such cooperation. The United Bible Societies’ web site reports that in 1996-1997 202 of 708 translation projects included active Roman Catholic involvement. Their World Translations Progress Report of 1999 lists 99 translation projects with one or more Roman Catholic participants on the translation team.

C. Ad Gentes. Vatican II also produced Ad Gentes, the Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church. The church is viewed in this document as a pilgrim people and a "universal sacrament of salvation" which has been sent to the nations. The church cannot help but evangelize, for "the pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature".

This document gives no strategy on using the Bible in the church’s missionary activity – in fact, no missionary document of the Catholic Church provides any such strategy. But Ad Gentes constantly and consistently cites Scripture in its comments on mission. And it relates church and mission so closely that the church’s relationship with the Word of God must affect its missionary activities.

Ad Gentes places the primary responsibility for promoting, directing, and coordinating missionary activity on local bishops. Thus they, together with the missionary religious congregations which serve in their dioceses, are ultimately responsible for missionary strategy.

 

3. Catholic Missionary Strategies

A. Evangelii Nuntiandi. Ad Gentes was not the church’s final word on missionary activity. Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi and John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris Missio developed the ideas of Vatican II. In Evangelii Nuntiandi Paul VI specifically lists and recommends several methods of evangelization which are current practice in Roman Catholic mission: the witness of life, preaching, liturgy, catechesis, the use of mass media, personal contact, and popular piety. Notice that translating, publishing, and distributing Bibles are not listed! In fact, no specific biblical strategy is given. However, preaching, the liturgy, catechesis, and the use of mass media often involve Sacred Scripture.

1. Paul VI considered the witness of an authentic Christian life the first and most important means of evangelization: "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses". Christian preaching will be heard and accepted only when confirmed by an authentic Christian life transformed by God’s Word. Such witness is "a silent proclamation of the Good News" which can be given by all Christians. Since it is normally wordless, the Bible seldom plays a major role. But witness can provoke questions which lead to opportunities to proclaim one’s faith and to refer to Sacred Scripture.

2. Witness, however, will be ineffective without some kind of explanation. Thus explicit proclamation or preaching of the Gospel is also necessary. The church remains under the obligation to announce the Good News about the death and resurrection of Jesus. "Faith is born of preaching, and every ecclesial community draws its origin and life from the personal response of each believer to that preaching". Here the biblical text plays an important role, for it not only tells the story of Jesus but also releases the power of the Word of God when proclaimed.

3. The liturgy plays a very important role in the life of the Catholic Church. It is the privileged place where the Christian community hears the Word of God. In fact, in the Catholic Church the Bible is less a personal book for prayer and meditation than a communal liturgical book, since the Scriptures play a special role in the liturgy. The Word is proclaimed through the reading of the biblical texts and through the homily. The Liturgy of the Word has taken on a new importance since Vatican II. It is celebrated not only with the Eucharist but also with all the sacraments as well as in other non-Eucharistic assemblies of the faithful. In many places the first book to be translated into the vernacular is not the Bible but the lectionary, which contains selections from both the Old and the New Testaments. The Catholic community often invites others to share in its liturgies, and so the Word of God may be heard even by nonbelievers. It is especially in Africa where the combination of Sacred Scripture and liturgical celebration has proved effective.

4. Yet another missionary method is catechesis, that is, instruction in the faith. Catechisms have been popular and effective tools for instructing both converts and the young. Sometimes catechisms make good use of the Bible. Unfortunately, in the past catechisms were often long on doctrine and short on biblical examples. Their publication received greater priority than the translation of the Bible. That has changed since Vatican II. Catechesis today focuses more on the Bible and is aimed at developing a greater appreciation of God's Word. Sacred Scripture is seen as the source and object of catechesis.

...Catechesis must be impregnated and penetrated by the thought, the spirit and the outlook of the Bible and the Gospels through assiduous contact with the texts themselves; but...catechesis will be all the richer and more effective for reading the texts with the intelligence and heart of the Church and for drawing inspiration from the two thousand years of the Church’s reflection and life.

One form of catechesis makes use of the sacred text itself: the Bible correspondence course, which is popular in a number of different countries.

5. Finally Paul VI recommends that evangelization make use of mass media or "the means of social communication" to deliver the message of the Good News of Jesus Christ. The media are even described as "a modern and effective version of the pulpit", through which vast numbers of people can be reached. In fact, today’s church cannot afford to ignore the media, for they offer creative and powerful ways of proclaiming the gospel and providing catechesis. With mass media the Word of God also does not have to be confined to a text — and therefore to a literate audience. God’s Word can be proclaimed to oral societies. Unfortunately, too many Catholic radio, television, and video programs have been tedious, boring, and substandard.

B. John Paul II and the New Evangelization. In 1983 Pope John Paul II issued a call for a "New Evangelization," which was "new in ardor, methods, and expression". New ardor occurs when the missionary once again experiences conversion; new methods include the involvement of all the members of the church in evangelization; new expression means the gospel must be announced in a way that is understandable today. The New Evangelization was meant more for church insiders rather than outsiders, since the fervor and life of many local churches had grown old and tired. But it resulted in numerous attempts to link mission with Bible, since renewed Christians naturally want to share the Word of God with others.

The Biblical Apostolate should play a meaningful role in the New Evangelization by making sure that the Bible takes its rightful place in the life of the Church. In this way, the Word of God can become Good News and source of life for the faithful.

"The Bible in the New Evangelization" became a common theme for numerous missionary and biblical assemblies in the 1980's and early 1990's. These assemblies often attempted to relate the Bible to new understandings of mission and to discover new ways of reading the Bible. Many concluded that in order to evangelize, disciples must first allow themselves to be evangelized, that is, to hear once again the call of the Good News to conversion.

C. Missionary/Biblical Issues. Missionary congresses, biblical assemblies, and papal documents in the 1990's often converged on three issues relating the Bible to missionary activity. These issues are dialogue, inculturation, and contextual readings of the Bible.

1. The first issue is that of dialogue, especially inter-religious dialogue. Inter-religious dialogue is more than a way of getting to know one another, for it "is a part of the Church’s evangelizing mission." Such dialogue also involves more than conversations by experts, for all followers of Christ can be involved in a "dialogue of life and heart". Such dialogue can take place by a common reading of scriptures, both Christian and other, in order to interpret human events and values. The Bible itself can teach us sensitivity to others’ thirst for and understanding of the divine in their lives. For it teaches us that "God can be encountered in utterly surprising and unfamiliar places".

2. Inculturation goes beyond mere external adaptation and the translation of biblical texts. Evangelization and inculturation are closely linked, for through inculturation the Gospel becomes incarnate in particular cultures. The gospel message cannot remain isolated from and unaffected by culture. The proclamation of the Word of God needs to take culture into account. At the same time the gospel message transforms and regenerates culture, since the Word of God prophetically denounces the evils and acclaims the values found in every culture. Thus efforts are being made to use the language, forms, and traditions of cultures to proclaim and to understand the Gospel message.

3. Related to inculturation is the issue of contextual ways of reading the Bible. Such readings are done from particular points of view — for example, by the poor, by women, by certain social classes, or by particular cultures and ethnic groups. Such readings often attempt to interpret life with the help of the Bible. More important than the historical and literal meaning of the text is the meaning discovered in the lives of the readers themselves.

The Conference of Latin American Religious has outlined some criteria for a Christian reading of the Bible. These are: 1) a reading of the Bible which starts from reality (in particular the reality of the poor and oppressed); 2) a reading of the Bible in community; 3) a reading of the Bible which respects the text; 4) a reading which relates to faith and life (the main concern is not to interpret the text but to interpret life); 5) a reading of the Bible in the service of life (which is necessarily liberating and ecumenical); 6) a committed reading (one does not read the Bible to better comprehend its meaning but to put it into practice); 7) a faithful reading (whose objective is to help people discover that God has come in Jesus to listen to the cry of the poor and to accompany them on their way).

Such contextual ways of reading the Bible are often done through "ecclesial basic communities" or "basic Christian communities", which are especially active in Latin America and Africa. These are small groups of Christians who come together for prayer, reading the Word of God, and social ministry. Such communities are often quite involved in evangelization.

 

4. Special Catholic Emphases/Interests

Vatican II’s Dei Verbum was revolutionary, for it changed Catholic attitudes about the Bible. Nevertheless, Catholics have not rejected their past. Contemporary Catholic use of the Bible in mission also reflects an evolutionary development, for Catholics do not tend to approach the Bible in the same way as Protestants.

A. The Word of God and the biblical text. The Catholic Church affirms that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and so venerates Sacred Scripture. Yet Catholics do not limit God’s Word to the biblical text. "Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church". For Catholics the concept of God’s Word is rather fluid, for it includes the biblical text, the homily, and sacred tradition. As a result, Catholics don’t seem to attach the same importance to the actual text itself as most Protestants do. The Bible should help us to meet Jesus, the Living Word of God. The purpose of the text then is to reveal the Risen Lord, not mere words. And the Risen Lord can be found not only in a book but also in the community. Thus for Catholics there is a subtle distinction between the Word of God and the Bible.

Obviously it is not just a matter of distributing a sacred book. Certainly the problem does exist to reach every person with the Word of God, translated into their own language and adapted to their cultural level. But this alone cannot be the concern of a new evangelization. Who already possesses Sacred Scripture and those to whom it has to be offered must know that "evangelization" does not mean the giving of a book but rather making the Lord present.

This may help to explain why Catholics in the past have often not placed a priority on the translation and distribution of the text. Even today the Catholic Church has no equivalent to the Bible Societies and feels no need to establish one. The Catholic Biblical Federation certainly encourages the translation, production, and distribution of the biblical text. Yet the CBF does not see this as its primary task. It prefers to encourage people to read the Bible.

Another consequence of this subtle distinction is that Catholics tend to have a greater interest in the biblical story than in the biblical text. Bible stories have always played important roles in liturgical celebrations and catechesis. Catholics tend to have no trouble with non-literary forms of proclaiming the gospel: story-telling, art, drama, dance, and music. Such means to present the gospel message have been especially successful in India and Africa. The Jesuits used paintings and drawings to illustrate Gospel stories in seventeenth-century China, and the Capuchins promoted biblical plays in nineteenth-century India. Catholics have often been encouraged to develop non-literary means of expressing the Word of God for people of oral cultures who are unable to read the printed word.

B. Community Reading. A second emphasis of Catholics is that reading Sacred Scripture is essentially a community — not an individual — activity. This is not to deny an individual the right to read the Bible. Yet private reading should support and prepare for communal reading. This is why the liturgy is considered to be the privileged place for the reading of God’s Word. No individual can claim to own or monopolize the Bible, nor do individuals’ claims to interpretation take priority over the church’s communal interpretation.

One consequence of this insistence on a communal reading of the Bible has been a new emphasis on the celebration of the Liturgy of the Word. A second consequence has been the return to the ancient practice of lectio divina, not only in monasteries and religious orders but also among the laity.

A third consequence has been an explosion of new movements, usually founded by lay people or designed for them, which promote personal and communal renewal through Bible reading and Bible sharing in small groups. These include the Focolare Movement, the Cursillo Movement, the Movement for a Better World, the Charismatic Renewal Movement, the Neo-Catechumenate, Communion and Liberation, New Image of the Parish, Renew, various Basic Christian Communities, and others. Strictly speaking, these movements are neither biblical nor missionary. Yet they have been part of the church’s effort to return Sacred Scripture to its central place, and they have often played an important role in evangelization and in the conversion of lukewarm Christians.

C. Interpretative Authority. In the Catholic Church the competency to represent the community in its interpretation of the text lies with the pope and bishops, who are collectively referred to as the magisterium:

But the task of authentically interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on, has been entrusted exclusively to the living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. This teaching office is not above the word of God, but serves it....

This recognition of a proper authority for the interpretation of the biblical text has led to a Catholic preference for Bibles with textual notes and comments. Such notes and comments in Catholic Bibles, however, tend to be explanatory (e.g., background information on history or culture) or pastoral rather than doctrinal. Such pastoral editions of the Bible can be quite popular. Even some Protestants have suggested that since the Bible is no longer self-explanatory to many Christians today, guidance may be needed in reading the biblical text.

D. Preference for the Gospels. The Catholic Church believes that all the books of the Bible are inspired, including the so-called "deutero-canonical books". However, it also holds that "among all the Scriptures, even those of the New Testament, the Gospels have a special preeminence". They have been favored because it is precisely in these books that the Good News about the death and resurrection of Jesus is described and the coming of the Kingdom of God is proclaimed. Thus the Gospels tended to be translated into local languages even when other books of the Bible were neglected. Already in 1920 Pope Benedict XV had encouraged all Catholic families to own and to read the Gospels — and even the entire New Testament.

Since the Gospels dominate the church’s liturgical books, especially the lectionary, they are translated and printed whenever liturgical books are published. Of course, the lectionary breaks up the text into segments, which prevents a continuous reading of a Gospel. And not everyone has access to a lectionary — unless it has been reproduced in the form of a popular missal. But the lectionary guarantees that the Gospels are regularly proclaimed in the liturgy.

E. The Missionaries Themselves. Dei Verbum recognized the importance of access to Scripture by all the faithful. In the past the emphasis was on access by the clergy and other pastoral agents, such as religious and catechists. Although universal access is now taken for granted, the church still holds that pastoral agents, especially missionaries, must be well versed in the Bible. Their training must ensure familiarity with the text, the ability to interpret it, and the willingness to be transformed by its message.

Those who are sent to the different nations should, as worthy ministers of Christ, be nourished by the "words of faith and with good doctrine" (1 Tim 4:6) which they will draw mainly from sacred Scripture while they are studying the mystery of Christ, whose preachers and witnesses they will be.

In the past most Catholic missionary activity was done by religious orders, some of which were founded specifically for this task. Few if any of these missionary institutes have specific policies or strategies relating the Bible to mission. Normally they follow local church norms for the translation, publication, distribution, and use of the Bible.

The missionary institutes still serve a valuable function in the church’s mission today. However, recent decades have seen a decline in their membership. And since Vatican II there has been a recognition that the laity have a role to play in missionary activity. The entire people of God are called upon to proclaim the gospel, to witness to Jesus, and to participate in some way in the church’s missionary task. The number of Roman Catholic lay missionaries has grown dramatically since Vatican II. The laity are also heavily involved in the new movements which place great emphasis on the Bible and on evangelization. It appears that in the future the laity will play an important role in missionary activity. This means that they too must have a proper biblical formation.

 

Notes

Eric Fenn, "The Bible and the Missionary", in The Cambridge History of the Bible, ed. S.L. Greenslade, Vol. 3: The West from the Reformation to the Present Day (Cambridge: University Press, 1963), 383.

2 It was renamed the "Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples" after Vatican II, where its role was reconfirmed. See Vatican II, Ad Gentes, 29; John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio, 75.

3 Willi Henkel, "The Polyglot Printing Office of the Congregation", in Sacrae Congregationis de Propaganda Fide Memoria Rerum: 350 Years in the Service of the Missions 1622-1972, ed. J. Metzler, Vol. I/1: 1622-1700 (Rome: Herder, 1971), 343.

4Ibid., 347-348.

 

5 Ype Schaaf, On Their Way Rejoicing: The History and Role of the Bible in Africa (Carlisle: Paternoster Press, 1994), 62-63.

6 Nicolas Standaert, "The Bible in Early Seventeenth-Century China", in Bible in Modern China: The Literary and Intellectual Impact, ed. Irene Eber et al. (Monumenta Serica Monograph Series 43; Sankt Augustin, Germany: Institut Monumenta Serica, 1999), 15, 36.

7 Ibid., 39, 42, 45.

8 Fenn, "The Bible and the Missionary", 394; Graham Ogden et al., "Bible Translation", in A Dictionary of Asian Christianity, ed. Scott W. Sunquist (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2001), 79.

9 This was largely through the efforts of the Korean laity who founded the church. However, after 100 years of persecution the Korean tradition of Bible reading had disappeared. See Maura Cho, "The Bible in Pastoral Work — Experiences from Korea", SEDOS Bulletin 28 (1996), 203.

10 Adrian Hastings, Church and Mission in Modern Africa (London: Burns & Oates, 1967), 20, 147-148; Kenneth Scott Latourette, The Nineteenth Century Outside Europe: The Americas, the Pacific, Asia, and Africa: Vol. 3: Christianity in a Revolutionary Age: A History of Christianity in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries (New York/London: Harper & Brothers, 1961), 93; Ogden et al., "Bible Translation", 84, 86; Schaaf, On Their Way Rejoicing, 62.

11 Henkel, "The Polyglot Printing Office of the Congregation", I/1, 338; Standaert, "The Bible in Early Seventeenth-Century China", 38, 42.

12 Ogden et al., "Bible Translations", 79; Standaert, "The Bible in Early Seventeenth-Century China", 33-35.

13 John Onaiyekan, "The Constitution DEI VERBUM after 25 Years: CBF Perspective", Bulletin Dei Verbum 17 (1990), 4-11.

14 Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, "Joint Pastoral Letter on the Biblical Apostolate", in The Word Is Alive in Asia, ed. John Paul I Biblical Center (Vigan, Philippines: John Paul I Biblical Center, 1989), 32; Ludger Feldkämper, "Bringing Christ to Man through Scripture", in Portare Cristo all'Uomo: Congresso del Ventennio dal Concilio Vaticano II (Studia Urbaniana; Roma: Pontificia Università Urbaniana, 1985), 666; Onaiyekan, "The Constitution DEI VERBUM after 25 Years", 4; U.S. Catholic Bishops, To the Ends of the Earth (Washington: U.S. Catholic Conference, 1986), 30.

15See, for example, Catholic Biblical Federation, "The Bible in the New Evangelization", Bulletin Dei Verbum 15/16 (1990), 7-18; Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, "Joint Pastoral Letter on the Biblical Apostolate", 32-35; John Paul II, Ecclesia in Africa, 58; John Paul II, Ecclesia in Asia, 22; World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate, "Final Statement of the II Plenary Assembly", in The Word Is Alive in Asia, ed. John Paul I Biblical Center (Vigan, Philippines: John Paul I Biblical Center, 1989), 16-23; World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate "God's Prophetic People", in The Word Is Alive in Asia, ed. John Paul I Biblical Center (Vigan, Philippines: John Paul I Biblical Center, 1989), 24-31.

16See Johannes Beckmann, ed., Die Heilige Schrift in den katholischen Missionen (Schöneck-Beckenried, Switzerland: Neue Zeitschrift für Missionswissenschaft, 1966); Bulletin Dei Verbum 1 (1986), 15; 18 (1991), 15-17; 19 (1991), 17-18; 36 (1995), 19; 43 (1997), 14-15; 45 (1997), 23; 48/49 (1998), 37; 50 (1999), 22; 53 (1999), 31; 54 (2000), 52-53; Ogden et al., "Bible Translation", 84-85; Piet Rijks, A Guide to Catholic Bible Translations: Vol. 1: The Pacific, 2nd edition (Stuttgart: Catholic Biblical Federation, 1993); Vol. 2: Africa (Stuttgart: World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate, 1989).

17Onaiyekan, "The Constitution DEI VERBUM after 25 Years", 10. A similar appeal for special Bibles for non-Christians was made in Ecclesia in Asia, 22.

18Dei Verbum, 22; World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate, "God's Prophetic People", 3.3.2.

19See Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity and the United Bible Societies, "Guidelines for Interconfessional Cooperation in Translating the Bible", new revised edition (Rome: Vatican Polyglot Press, 1987).

20This figure, however, may be low, since the denomination of translators is not always reported.

21Vatican II, Lumen Gentium, 48, cited in Ad Gentes, n. 1.

22Ad Gentes, n. 2.

23Later church statements encourage missionary activity based on God’s Word but give no suggestions on how to do that. See, for example, John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 40: "To nourish ourselves with the Word in order to be 'servants of the Word' in the work of evangelization: this is surely a priority for the Church at the dawn of the new millennium".

24Ad Gentes, nn. 20, 29-30, 38; see also Redemptoris Missio, n. 63; Catechism of the Catholic Church (London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1994), 132.

25Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, nn. 40-48.

26Paul VI, Address to the Members of the Consilium de Laicis (2 October 1974), quoted in Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 41. John Paul II makes a similar observation: "People today put more trust in witnesses than in teachers, in experience than in teaching, and in life and action than in theories. The witness of a Christian life is the first and irreplaceable form of mission..." (Redemptoris Missio, n. 42). See José Saraiva Martins, "Nuovo concetto di evangelizzazione secondo il sinodo e la 'Evangelii Nuntiandi'", in L'Annuncio del Vangelo Oggi, ed. José Saraiva Martins (Rome: Pontificia Università Urbaniana, 1977), 74, 79.

27Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 21.

28Redemptoris Missio, n. 44. See Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 42.

29John Paul II, Ecclesia in America, n. 12; Evangelii Nuntiandi, nn. 43, 47; Italian Episcopal Conference, "'May the Word of the Lord Spread and Be Glorified' (2 Thess 3:1): The Bible in the Life of the Church", Bulletin Dei Verbum 42 (1997), 8; Novo Millenio Ineunte, n. 39; Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 24; Dieter Skweres, "Umgang mit der Bibel in Afrika", in Reflecting Mission, Practicing Mission: Divine Word Missionaries Commemorate 125 Years of Worldwide Commitment (Studia Instituti Missiologici Societatis Verbi Divini 76/II; Nettetal, Germany: Steyler Verlag, 2001), 528-529; Sabino Vengco, Jr., "Evangelization and the Proclamation of the Word of God", in Book of Proceedings of the First National Bible Congress, ed. Cirilo R. Almario (Malolos, Philippines: Mater Dei, 1989), 26-27.

30Schaaf, On Their Way Rejoicing, 101. In 1634 the Holy Office decided not to undertake a new translation of the Bible in Illyria and gave preference to the Doctrina Christiana of Bellarmine instead. See Standaert, "The Bible in Early Seventeenth-Century China", 38.

31 Cirilo R. Almario, Jr., "The Bible in Catholic Pastoral Approaches Today", in The Word of God is Alive in Asia, ed. John Paul I Biblical Center (Vigan, Philippines: John Paul I Biblical Center, 1989), 96; "Conclusions of the Roman International Catechetical Congress: 1971", in Sourcebook for Modern Catechetics, ed. Michael Warren (Winona, Minn.: St. Mary's Press, 1983), 75; Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 39; Third General Conference of Latin American Bishops, Puebla: Evangelization at Present and in the Future of Latin America — Conclusions, Official English Edition (London: St. Paul Publications/Catholic Institute for International Relations, 1980), 150.

32John Paul II, Catechesi Tradendae, n. 27.

33Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 45. John Paul II calls the media the modern equivalent of the Areopagus. See Redemptoris Missio, n. 37.

34Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Communio et Progressio, nn. 126-131. Catholic radio programs in Asia and Africa often focus on the Bible.

35Address by John Paul II to the bishops of Latin America, March 9, 1983, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

36John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, nn. 34, 46.

37Alberto Ablondi, "The Bible in the New Evangelization", in The Word Is Alive in Asia, ed. John Paul I Biblical Center (Vigan, Philippines: John Paul I Biblical Center, 1989), 86; Almario, "The Bible in Catholic Pastoral Approaches Today", 95; Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 40.

38Peter K. Sarpong, "Pastoral Letter on the Bible and the Evangelizing Mission of the Church in the Diocese of Kumasi" (Kumasi, Ghana: Kumasi Catholic Press, 1997), 4.4.

39For example, the Third Philippine National Workshop for the Biblical Apostolate (February 15-18, 1988); the Second Asian Workshop for the Biblical Apostolate (Singapore; December 11-16, 1988); the First Panafrican Biblical Apostolate Seminar (Nairobi; January 17-25, 1990); the Fourth Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Biblical Federation (Bogotá, Colombia; June 27 - July 6, 1990); the Bishops' Synod for Europe (Rome; November 28 - December 14, 1991).

40Catholic Biblical Federation, "The Bible in the New Evangelization", 5.4. See Redemptoris Missio, nn. 47, 49; Teodoro C. Bacani, "A Re-Evangelized and Re-Evangelizing People", in Book of Proceedings of the First National Bible Congress, ed. Cirilo R. Almario, Jr. (Malolos, Philippines: Mater Dei, 1989), 50-63.

41Redemptoris Missio, n. 55. See Ecclesia in Asia, nn. 29, 31; Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Dialogue and Proclamation, in New Directions in Mission and Evangelization 1: Basic Statements 1974-1991, ed. James A. Scherer and Stephen B. Bevans (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1992), 38; Second Asian Workshop for the Biblical Apostolate, "Final Statement", Bulletin Dei Verbum 10 (1989), 6.

42Dialogue and Proclamation, 42; Ecclesia in Asia, n. 31.

43Catholic Biblical Federation, "Word of God – Source of Life" (Final Statement of the V Plenary Assembly of the Catholic Biblical Federation; Hong Kong; 2-12 July 1996), in Bulletin Dei Verbum 40/41 (1996), 5.3.2; 5.3.1; see also "The Bible in the New Evangelization", 8.3.5.2; Dialogue and Proclamation, 177-200.

44Redemptoris Missio, n. 52. See Ad Gentes, n. 22; Ecclesia in Africa, nn. 59-62; Ecclesia in Asia, nn. 21-22; Jacob Theckanath, "The Asian Image of Jesus: Biblical, Theological, Catechetical & Liturgical Renewal", in Journeying with the Word in Pluralist Asia, ed. Jacob Theckanath (Bangalore: NBCLC, 2000), 67, 70.

45Catechesi Tradendae, n. 53; Catholic Biblical Federation, "The Bible in the New Evangelization", 6.1; 8.3.5.1.

46Angel Mario Caputo, "La Biblia en Manos del Pueblo: TECEPE — Taller de Creaciones Populares para la Evangelización y Educación", in Audiens et Proclamans, ed. Ludger Feldkämper et al. (Stuttgart: Catholic Biblical Federation, 1994), 49-57; Maura Cho, "Reading the Bible in an Asian Context", SEDOS Bulletin 28 (1996), 187-201; Comisión Episcopal de Pastoral Bíblica, "Vayan por todo el mundo y proclamen la Buena Noticia": Ideario-Guía para la Pastoral Bíblica en México (México, DF: Casa de la Biblia, 2000), 40-41; Maria Ko Ha-Fong, "Reading the Bible in an Asian Context", Bulletin Dei Verbum 40/41 (1996), 11-16, 21-25; Carlos Mesters, Defenseless Flower: A New Reading of the Bible (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1989), 9, 58-82; "The Liberating Reading of the Bible", SEDOS Bulletin 28 (1996), 164-170; The Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1993) I.E.

47Conference of Latin American Religious, "Criteria for a Bible Reading", Bulletin Dei Verbum 11 (1989), 6-8.

48Redemptoris Missio, n. 51; Peter Lwaminda, "The New Evangelization and the Building Up of Small Christian Communities in AMECEA", in The Bible in the New Evangelization: Acts of the First Panafrican Biblical Apostolate Seminar, ed. Wynnand Amewowo (Nairobi: BICAM, 1990), 66-67.

49Dei Verbum, 10.

50Onaiyekan, "The Constitution DEI VERBUM after 25 Years", 8. See Catholic Biblical Federation, "The Bible in the New Evangelization", 5.15; Second Asian Workshop for the Biblical Apostolate, "Final Statement", 5-6; Puebla, 372.

51Ablondi, "The Bible in the New Evangelization", 84.

52Ludger Feldkämper, "The Journey of the Federation — The Word That Grows", in Journeying with the Word in Pluralist Asia, ed. Jacob Theckanath (Bangalore:NBCLC, 2000), 7-8; World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate, "God's Prophetic People", 3.3.2.

53Francis Barboza, "History and Theology of 'Dance and Movement' in the Church of India", Bulletin Dei Verbum 30 (1994), 14-15; Wolfram Dressler, "Images Born of Necessity: A Latin American Pastoral Adventure", Bulletin Dei Verbum 55/56 (2000), 18-21; Hermann Hagenmeier, "Dancing the Good News", in The Word in the World 1973, ed. John Boberg (Techny, Ill.: Divine Word Publications, 1973), 125-127; Oswald Hirmer, "Biblical Education by Means of Pictures and Images Used in the LUMKO Method: Trainers of the Diocese of Umtata, S. Africa", Bulletin Dei Verbum 55/56 (2000), 22-25; Pierre Humblot, "Bible and Icons: Silent Catechesis for Evangelizing Our Imagination", Bulletin Dei Verbum 55/56 (2000), 13-17; Joseph Kallanchira, "Telling Stories to Communicate the Word: Storytelling as a Missionary Method in African Oral Cultures", Verbum SVD 39 (1998), 247-266; "Using the Stage to Communicate the Word: Popular Theatre as a Missionary Method in African Oral Cultures", SEDOS Bulletin 32 (2000), 73-78; Günter Lange, "Bible and Images: Opportunities and Limitations of Biblical Picture-Language", Bulletin Dei Verbum 55/56 (2000), 4-6; Georg Proksch, "The Gospel in Indian Dress", in The Word in the World 1975, ed. John Boberg (Techny, Ill.: Divine Word Publications, 1975), 58-62; Alexander M. Schweitzer, "The Massai Bible: A Picture-Bible from Africa", Bulletin Dei Verbum 55/56 (2000), 7-12.

54Latourette, Christianity in a Revolutionary Age, 405-406; Standaert, "The Bible in Early Seventeenth-Century China", 40.

55World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate, "Final Statement of the Second Plenary Assembly", 15; Catholic Biblical Federation, "The Bible in the New Evangelization", 8.3.1.

56VI All-India Biblical Meeting, "Giving the Bible Back to the Community", in The Word Is Alive in Asia, ed. John Paul I Biblical Center (Vigan, Philippines: John Paul I Biblical Center, 1989), 7-8, 12; "Pastoral Letter of the Dutch Bishops about the Challenges of the Biblical Pastoral Ministry in Holland" (January 30, 1994), in Bulletin Dei Verbum 43 (1997), 10; The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, III.B.3.

57 See Michel De Verteuil, "The Theological Background to Inculturation — LECTIO DIVINA", Bulletin Dei Verbum 26 (1993), 4-14; Christopher Dillon, "Lectio Divina in the Monastic Tradition", The Bedell/Boyle Lecture 1995 (Dublin: National Bible Society of Ireland, 1995); Mariano Magrassi, Praying the Bible: An Introduction to Lectio Divina (Collegeville, Minn: The Liturgical Press, 1998); Carlo Martini, "The Pastoral Practice of Lectio Divina", Bulletin Dei Verbum 19 (1991), 8-13; Mario Masini, Lectio Divina: An Ancient Prayer That Is Ever New (New York: Alba House, 1998); Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 39.

58 Feldkämper, "Bringing Christ to Man through Scripture", 666-667. See Redemptoris Missio, n. 72.

59 Dei Verbum, 10; see also Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2034; The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, III.B.3; Norberto Rivera, "Pastoral Letter on Sacred Scripture in the New Evangelization", Bulletin Dei Verbum 44 (1997), 14.

60 For example, La Biblia Pastoral Latinoamericana and its English equivalent The Christian Community Bible have been sold by the millions. See Carlos Pape, "La Biblia Pastoral Latinoamericana: Aporte Sin Precedentes a la Pastoral Bíblica", in Audiens et Proclamans, ed. Ludger Feldkämper et al. (Stuttgart: Catholic Biblical Federation, 1994), 75-78.

61 Fenn, "The Bible and the Missionary", 405.

62 Usually called the "Apocrypha" by Protestants. These works are Baruch, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Sirach (Ecclesiasticus), Tobit, and Wisdom, plus certain sections belonging to Daniel and Esther.

63 Dei Verbum, 18.

64 Pierre-André Liégé, "The Ministry of the Word: From Kerygma to Catechesis", in Sourcebook for Modern Catechetics, ed. Michael Warren (Winona, Minn.: St. Mary’s Press, 1983), 325.

65 Benedict XV, Spiritus Paraclitus, §643-644.

66 Ad Gentes, n. 26. This insistence on good biblical formation for missionaries appears again and again in church documents. See Ad Gentes, nn. 17, 20; Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, "Joint Pastoral Letter on the Biblical Apostolate", 36; Ecclesia in Africa, n. 58; Ecclesia in Asia, n. 22; Rivera, "Pastoral Letter on Sacred Scripture", 5; VI All-India Biblical Meeting, "Giving the Bible Back to the Community", 76, 81.

67 Ad Gentes, n. 27; Redemptoris Missio, nn. 66, 69.

68 See "AFRICA: The Biblical Apostolate of the Comboni Missionaries", Bulletin Dei Verbum 14 (1990), 14-16; Lawrence Nemer, Anglican and Roman Catholic Attitudes on Missions (Studia Instituti Missiologici Societatis Verbi Divini 29; St. Augustin, Germany: Steyler Verlag, 1981), 129; Society of African Missions, Mission Ad Gentes in the Third Millennium (Bulletin No.109; Rome: Society of African Missions, 2000). An exception is the Society of the Divine Word, which since Vatican II has placed greater emphasis on biblical ministries within its missionary activity.

69 Christifideles Laici, nn. 2, 14, 33-35, 51; Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 40; Redemptoris Missio, n. 71.

70 VI All-India Biblical Meeting, "Giving the Bible Back to the Community", 76.

 

Ref.: First published in Scripture, Community and Mission: Essays in Honor of D. Preman Niles, ed. Philip Wickeri. Hong Kong: The Christian Conference of Asia, 2002. Pp. 1-17 (my article).