Reading of the Bible should be done without subjectivism or arbitrariness

Rome, Italy, Feb 20, 2009 / 19:24 pm

The secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, said recently that the reading of the Word of God should be done without falling into “subjectivism, arbitrariness or fundamentalism.”

The bishop made his comments during the presentation of the book, “The Word in words: From Biblicism to the Realism of the Faith,” by Bishop Lorenzo Leuzzi. The book features reflections on the discourses of Pope Benedict XVI during the Synod on the Word of God which was held at the Vatican last October.

After noting that “the faithful’s personal encounter with the Word of God takes place in the sphere of the ecclesial community,” the archbishop recalled that Pope Benedict referred to “the need for a Catholic exegesis that takes into account the human and divine dimension of the revealed word.”

The Pope’s reflections, he continued, guided the work of the synod fathers, “who were looking for a just position on this issue, taking in all the good that comes from modern exegesis but inserting it into the Tradition of the Church.”

For the bishop, this essential issue for the life and mission of the Church “has not only to do with experts, exegetes and theologians, but also with all Christians who should have a proper knowledge of the Word of God.”

“For example, in the practice of lectio divina, the first degree requires reading (lectio) and then the application of the historical-critical method, also in a minimum measure, which is indispensable for not falling into subjectivism, arbitrariness or fundamentalism,” he said.