Vatican City, Apr 28, 2008 / 09:09 am
Today the Catholic Biblical Federation and GFK Eurisko presented their research on the frequency of Bible reading at the Holy See’s Press Office. Their survey explored the practice in several countries: U.S., UK, Netherlands, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Russia; finding that the Bible is present in the lives of many adults today.
Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni, Italy, the president of the Catholic Biblical Federation, explained that looking toward the Synod on "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church", the Catholic Biblical Federation thought it would be valuable “to undertake research in a number of countries in the world,” while remaining mindful of Christian tradition to “acquire concrete information on Christians' relationship with Scripture.”
The survey highlighted the “role of the Bible in ecumenical dialogue,” and found that "Scripture remains the most effective 'place' Christians have to progress together along the path of unity. ... The answers also showed that there no longer exists that diversity among the various Christian traditions - a diversity evident in the past - concerning their relationship with Scripture".
Another emerging factor was the respect that men and women have toward Holy Scripture. Among Christians "it is widely held that the Bible contains the Word of God, that it is an inspired work capable of giving meaning to life, and that it has far greater authority than other ecclesial manifestations," although the values it contains "are difficult to put into practice".