The new papal document, subtitled: "On the Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church," was recently promulgated by the Vatican as follow up to the October, 2008 Twelfth General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God. Verbum Domini--Latin for “Word of the Lord,” is the first world-wide document on the Bible to come out since 1993, when the Pontifical Biblical Commission gave us The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church.
In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI invited 253 bishops from around the world “to reflect”, said Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, “on the Word of God, on its central role in the life of the Church and on its dynamism which encourages Christians in mission to announce in words and deeds the Good News and the presence in our midst of the Risen Lord Jesus.” (Asia News, October 4, 2008, as reported by Catholic Online, www.catholic.org).
In addition to the bishops, Pope Benedict also invited several special guests to speak to the assembly, including: the Chief Rabbi of Haifa, Israel; a leader from the ecumenical Taize community; and the Ecumenical Patriarch. In addition, 41 experts and 37 auditors, men and women from dozens of countries, were in attendance.
In the two years since the closing of the Synod, those of us who are interested in Catholic biblical studies have been anticipating the arrival of Verbum Domini, which is expected to shape the way we preach and teach the Word of God in the coming decades.
