Pope affirms importance of entire Bible reading

This is why that is such a prominent topic and teaching tool on my blog. The Pope correctly identifies both the need for Catholics to read the Bible more and the necessity of proper context in its entirety. I could not have phrased it better than Pope Benedict did right here:

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/briefs/cns/20080826.htm#head7

A challenge for Pope Benedict: Leading more people to read the BibleVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Benedict XVI chose the Bible as the topic for this fall's Synod of Bishops, he turned the church's attention to an area he has long considered crucial and in need of revitalization. The pope's concern touches several levels. For one thing, despite an upsurge in biblical interest after the Second Vatican Council, only a minority of Catholics read the Bible regularly. The pope views the lack of scriptural formation as part of a wider crisis of catechetics in the church. At a more academic level, the pope sees a danger in modern biblical interpretation that he believes diminishes the meaning of Scripture and erodes the bond between Bible and church. In particular, he has warned that various modern-day methods of interpreting the Bible are too limiting; for instance, some scholars read Scripture as if they are seeking to break a code and pluck out answers one by one. Instead, Pope Benedict believes the Bible must be seen as a whole and as the word of God, in which everything relates to everything else and offers the possibility of a spiritual journey, rather than being seen as a textbook on divine matters. So in convoking some 250 bishops for the Oct. 5-26 synod, the pope did not intend to host a forum for scriptural analysis. His primary interest is pastoral, and a main challenge is to lead more Catholics to the Bible.
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And on this topic, Pope Benedict made a prompt appointment of a vacancy that was opened due to a sad passing. Notice the bible scholar appointed to this position is an Archbishop from Congo.

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0804336.htm

Pope names Congolese bishop as special secretary of synod on Bible
By John Thavis Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa, Congo, as the special secretary of the October Synod of Bishops on the Bible.Archbishop Monsengwo, a longtime biblicist and one of Africa's most experienced churchmen, will assist in the preparation of two reports during the synod and the preparation of its final recommendations.

He replaces Bishop Wilhelm Egger of Bolzano-Bressanone, Italy, who died of a heart attack in mid-August. Bishop Egger was named special secretary in January and had been working over the summer to prepare for the Oct. 5-26 assembly.Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, told Vatican Radio Aug. 23 that the pope's appointment of Archbishop Monsengwo was a sign of the importance of Africa for the church.

Archbishop Monsengwo, 68, has participated in several synods in recent decades and, as a member of the Synod of Bishops' 15-man council, had been involved closely in the planning for the synod on the Bible.Archbishop Monsengwo studied in the 1960s at Rome's Pontifical Biblical Institute, earning a doctorate in biblical sciences. He was made a bishop in 1980, and was named to head the Archdiocese of Kinshasa in late 2007.

He is president of the Congolese bishops' conference and former president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.Archbishop Eterovic said that the planning for the October synod was in its final phase, and that a list of papal appointees to the synod would be announced soon. Some 250 bishops and some priests are expected to participate in the synod; they will include representatives chosen by bishops' conferences, synods of Eastern churches and confederations of religious orders.

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All GREAT news!! The Holy Father knows what he is doing!! Trust in God, the Pope, and read your Bibles!!

For those of you who might be interested in tackling the entire Bible all over again (or reading it cover to cover for the first time) I have a suggestion, consistent with what I have been teaching and tudoring here. I'll put that suggestion in the blog's next entry!