{"id":25033,"date":"2009-10-31T14:15:03","date_gmt":"2009-10-31T18:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2009\/10\/100-years-of-the-pontifical-bi\/"},"modified":"2009-10-31T14:15:03","modified_gmt":"2009-10-31T18:15:03","slug":"100-years-of-the-pontifical-bi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2009\/10\/100-years-of-the-pontifical-bi\/","title":{"rendered":"100 years of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Biblicum.jpg\"<\/a>Here’s Benedict XVI’s October 26, 2009 address to the professors,
\nstudents and staff of the <\/i>Pontifical Biblical Institute<\/i><\/a>, on the centenary of
\nits foundation. Carefully note the key points the Pope raises for the authentic study of Scripture as Catholics!<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
Cardinals, Most Reverend Superior-General of the Society of
\nJesus, Illustrious Rector, Illustrious Professors and Beloved Students of the Pontifical
\nBiblical Institute<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
I am delighted to meet with you on the occasion of the
\n100th anniversary of the foundation of your Institute, desired by my holy predecessor
\nPius X, in order to establish in the city of Rome a center of specialized
\nstudies on sacred Scripture and related disciplines.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
I greet with deference
\nCardinal Zenon Grocholewski, whom I thank for the courteous words he addressed
\nto me on your behalf. I likewise greet the superior-general, Father Adolfo
\nNicolás Pachón, and I am happy to take the opportunity given to me to express
\nmy sincere gratitude to the Society of Jesus, which, not without notable
\neffort, deploys financial investments and human resources in the management of
\nthe faculty of the Ancient East, the Biblical faculty here in Rome<\/a>, and the
\nheadquarters of the Institute in Jerusalem<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
I greet the rector and professors,
\nwho have consecrated their life to study and inquiry in constant listening to
\nthe Word of God. I greet and thank the staff, employees and workers for their
\nappreciated collaboration, as also the benefactors who have made available and
\ncontinue to make available the necessary resources for maintaining the
\nstructures and activities of the Pontifical Biblical Institute. I greet the
\nformer students united spiritually to us at this moment, and I greet you
\nespecially, beloved students, who come from every part of the world.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
One
\nhundred years have gone by since the birth of the Pontifical Biblical
\nInstitute. In the course of this century, it has certainly increased interest
\nin the Bible and, thanks to Vatican Council II, especially the dogmatic
\nconstitution Dei Verbum<\/i> — of whose elaboration I was a direct
\nwitness, participating as theologian in the discussions that preceded its
\napproval — there is much greater awareness of the importance of the Word of
\nGod in the life and mission of the Church.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
This has fostered in Christian
\ncommunities a genuine spiritual and pastoral renewal, which above all has
\naffected preaching, catechesis, the study of theology and ecumenical dialogue<\/b><\/span>.
\nYour Pontifical Institute has made its own significant contribution to this
\nrenewal with scientific biblical research, the teaching of biblical disciplines
\nand the publication of qualified studies and specialized journals<\/span>. In the
\ncourse of the decades several generations of illustrious professors have
\nsucceeded one another — I would like to remember, among others, Cardinal Bea
\n— who formed more<\/span><\/div>\n

\"ABea.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 than 7,000 professors of sacred Scripture and promoters of
\nbiblical groups, as also many experts now present in an array of ecclesiastical
\nservices, in every region of the world.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
Let us thank the Lord for this activity
\nof yours that is dedicated to interpreting the biblical texts in the spirit in
\nwhich they were written (cfr Dei Verbum<\/i>, 12), and that opens to dialogue with
\nthe other disciplines, and with many cultures and religions<\/span>. Although it has
\nknown moments of difficulty, it has continued in constant fidelity to the
\nmagisterium according to the objectives themselves of your institute, which
\narose in fact “ut in Urbe Roma altiorum studiorum ad Libros sacros
\npertinentium habeatur centrum, quod efficaciore, quo liceat, modo doctrinam
\nbiblicam et studia omnia eidem adiuncta, sensu Ecclesiae catholicae
\npromoveat” (Pius PP. X, Litt. Ap. Vinea electa (May 7, 1909): AAS 1
\n(1909), 447-448).<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
Dear friends, the celebration of the centenary is an end, and
\nat the same time a point of reference. Enriched by the experience of the past,
\ncontinue on your way with renewed determination, aware of the service to the
\nChurch required of you, to bring the Bible closer to the life of the People of
\nGod, so that it will be able to address <\/i>in an adequate way the unheard of
\nchallenges that modern times pose to the new evangelization<\/i>. It is the common
\ndesire that sacred Scripture become in this secularized world, not only the
\nsoul of theology<\/span>, but also the source of spirituality<\/span> and vigor of the faith<\/span> of
\nall believers in Christ<\/b>.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
May the Pontifical Biblical Institute continue,
\ntherefore, growing as a high quality ecclesial center of study in the realm of
\nbiblical research, making use of modern methodologies and in collaboration with
\nspecialists in dogmatic theology and in other theological areas<\/span>; may it ensure
\na careful formation in sacred Scripture to future priests so that, making use
\nof the biblical languages and of the various exegetical methodologies, they
\nwill be able to have direct access to biblical texts. In this regard, the
\nalready mentioned dogmatic constitution Dei Verbum<\/i> has stressed the legitimacy
\nand necessity of the historical-critical method<\/span>, reducing it to three essential
\nelements: attention to literary genres; study of the historical context;
\nexamination of what is usually called <\/b>Sitz im Leben<\/b><\/i>. The conciliar document
\nmaintains firm at the same time the theological character of exegesis,
\nindicating the strong points of the theological method in the interpretation of
\nthe text. This is so because the foundation on which theological understanding
\nof the Bible rests is the unity of Scripture<\/span>, and this assumption corresponds,
\nas methodological way, to the analogy of the faith, that is, to the
\nunderstanding of the individual texts from the whole.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
The conciliar text adds a
\nfurther methodological indication. Scripture being only one thing starting from
\nthe one People of God, which has been its bearer throughout history,
\nconsequently to read Scripture as a unit means to read it from the Church as
\nfrom its vital place, and to regard the faith of the Church as the real key to
\ninterpretation<\/b><\/i><\/span>. If exegesis also wishes to be theology, it must acknowledge
\nthat the faith of the Church is that form of “sim-patia” without
\nwhich the Bible remains as a sealed book: Tradition does not close access to
\nScripture<\/span>, but rather opens it; on the other hand, the decisive word in the
\ninterpretation of Scripture corresponds to the Church, in her institutional
\norganizations. It is the Church, in fact, which has been entrusted with the
\ntask of interpreting authentically the Word of God written and transmitted,
\nexercising her authority in the name of Jesus Christ (cfr Dei Verbum<\/i>, 10).<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
Dear
\nbrothers and sisters, while thanking you for your pleasant visit, I encourage
\nyou to continue your ecclesial service, in constant adherence to the
\nmagisterium of the Church and assure each one of you the support of prayer,
\nimparting to you from my heart, as pledge of divine favors, the apostolic
\nblessing.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
Here’s the Rector’s PIB Centenary.pdf<\/a> for the 100 years’ observance and the video clip<\/a> of the papal audience.<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s Benedict XVI’s October 26, 2009 address to the professors, students and staff of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, on the centenary of its foundation. Carefully note the key points the Pope raises for the authentic study of Scripture as Catholics! Cardinals, Most Reverend Superior-General of the Society of Jesus, Illustrious Rector, Illustrious Professors and Beloved … Continue reading 100 years of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Rome<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[1719,1921],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25033"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25033\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}