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Vatican City, Oct 10, 2008 / 11:35 am (CNA).- On Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, with Pope Benedict present, several Church fathers offered their input to the ongoing synod on the Bible. Among them were the president of the Council on the Family, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and head of the Pontifical Council for Legislative texts.Addressing the assembly, Cardinal Ennio Antonelli spoke about the need to incorporate the Word of God into the lives of families. The president of the Pontifical Council for the Family recommended that families make the Bible a part of their lives by following...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Learning to pray with the Scriptures, improving homilies and ensuring an accurate interpretation of Bible passages were the major themes of formal presentations, open discussion and small-group work Oct. 7-8 at the world Synod of Bishops on the Bible. Canadian Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, the synod's English-language briefing officer, said the three concerns came up repeatedly during the Oct. 7 open-mike discussion in the synod hall and in small groups Oct. 8. Pope Benedict XVI was not present for the Oct. 7 evening session, and he does not participate in the small-group discussions. Father Rosica said...

Cardinal Says Scripture Inseparably United to Tradition Synod Considers Word of God as More Than Bible VATICAN CITY, OCT. 7, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Scripture and Tradition are inseparably united since they both come from the same source, says the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Cardinal William Levada, a delegate president of the synod on the word of God, affirmed this Monday when he addressed the 12th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. "As the dogmatic constitution 'Dei Verbum' reminds us, there exists an indissoluble unity between sacred Scripture and Tradition since both flow from...

What Is Needed for a Bible Comeback (Part 2) Interview With Cardinal Albert Vanhoye By Father Lucas Teixeira, LCROME, OCT. 5, 2008 (Zenit.org).- A renowned biblical scholar who will be participating in the synod of bishops on the word of God has advice for the faithful who don't know where to start to get to know the Bible better. Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, a Jesuit priest and former rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and former secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, spoke with ZENIT about sacred Scripture and the synod that opens today. He has been a professor...

What Is Needed for a Bible Comeback (Part 1) Interview With Cardinal Albert Vanhoye By Father Lucas Teixeira, LC ROME, OCT. 3, 2008 (Zenit.org).- For the Bible to become an integral part of Catholics' spiritual life, education and mediation are the two things needed, according to a renowned biblical scholar who will be participating in the synod of bishops on the word of God this month. Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, a Jesuit priest and former rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and former secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, spoke with ZENIT about sacred Scripture and the synod that...

Among the rookies attending their first Synod of Bishops is the US bench's #2, Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson... who's substituting his usual "Monday Memo" with a daily blog chronicling the experience: I found my seat -- section II, row G, seat 14 -- right in the center of the hall. The guidelines for the Synod are most interesting. They state that delegates are expected to be at every session no matter what. If you want to be excused, you need to see the General Secretary and you have to state your excuse. (I think we might have to...

A Jewish cleric has addressed a worldwide gathering of Roman Catholic Bishops for the first time.Shear-Yashuv Cohen, chief rabbi of the Israeli city of Haifa, explained to the Pope and his bishops the importance of the Bible to Jewish believers. He also used the occasion to denounce the Iranian president for his comments about Israel at the UN last month. The first day of the Vatican Synod saw some strong opinions expressed, the BBC's David Willey in Rome says. Not only did the bishops cover the role of the Bible in the modern world - the official theme of the...

“I don't divide Jews into religious and secular, to me, they are all Jews.” Who said that? Mel Gibson? Nope. This statement is actually from the history making Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, the chief Ashkenazi rabbi of Haifa, Israel. Cohen is history making because tomorrow afternoon Cohen will become the first non-Christian to address a synod of bishops. That synod, of course, is the synod on the Bible and Cohen will be discussing how Christians understand Jewish scriptures. In his piece at NCR entitled "Synod: A Rabbi, a Jesuit and the Pope walk into a bar …", John Allen Jr...

Our Lord Jesus Christ tells of two men, a rich man who rejects God and a beggar whose trust is in the Lord (Luke 16:19-31). Both of them die, and the beggar goes to heaven, while the rich man goes to hell. One reason he tells this story is so that we may know something of what comes after death. Many will enjoy the pleasures of heaven, but others will suffer the horrors of hell. This rich man who is suffering the torments of hell makes two requests of Abraham. First, he asks to be relieved of his torment, which...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Inviting a Jewish scholar to address the world Synod of Bishops on the Bible was logical given the role of the Scriptures in Jewish life, said the head of the synod office. Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, briefed journalists on plans for the Oct. 5-26 celebration of the 12th general assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will focus on "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church." Also during the Oct. 3 briefing, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said the synod's 253 voting members would...

It is the most remarkable find since excavations in the heart of this 3,000-year-old capital of ancient Israel began 140 years ago: a tiny clay seal impression also known as a bulla or stamp, discovered near the ruins of what has been identified as King David's palace and bearing the name of an influential courtier mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. "It is not very often that archaeologists have surprises that bring them so close to the reality of the biblical text," said Eilat Mazar, whose pinpoint dig in a relatively small site this summer led her to a clay bulla...

ROME, SEPT. 30, 2008 (Zenit.org).- A multilingual Bible will be given to Benedict XVI in honor of the October synod of bishops on the word of God. The "Polyglot Bible," illustrated by Cláudio Pastro, will be given to the Holy Father on Oct. 7, in a special white deluxe edition. Red copies will also be given to the members of the synod.The Bible's Old Testament is in five languages: Hebrew-Aramaic, Greek, Latin, English and Spanish, while the New Testament is in four languages: Greek, Latin, English and Spanish. The Bible is designed for liturgical, academic and exegetical usages. The 3,220-page...

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Even when it comes to morality, Catholics are not biblical fundamentalists, although they view the Bible as an important source of moral guidance, said top Catholic scholars. The various books of the Bible were written in different epochs, in different cultures and by different authors, the scholars said, so when looking for moral precepts, a Christian cannot focus on just one line. In their new document, "The Bible and Morality," the scholars on the Pontifical Biblical Commission said biblical morality is not so much a set of dos and don'ts as it is a set of...

ISSUE: Catholic Bibles contain seven more Old Testament (46) books than Protestant Bibles (39). Catholics refer to these seven books as the “deuterocanon”[1] (second canon), while Protestants refer to them as “apocrypha,” a term used pejoratively to describe non-canonical books. Protestants also have shorter versions of Daniel and Esther. Why are there differences?RESPONSE: Catholic Bibles contain all the books that have been traditionally accepted by Christians since Jesus’ time. Protestant Bibles contain all those books, except those rejected by the Protestant Reformers in the 1500’s. The chief reason Protestants rejected these biblical books was because they did not support Protestant...

The 105 colonists and seamen who set sail from England and settled in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 carried the Geneva Bible with them. The copious notes of this refugee translation, while identifying the existing papal government as the biblical antichrist, saw beyond its own generation to a more glorious future. Keep in mind that the editors of the Geneva notes believed that antichrist was a past and present reality for them. They believed antichrist was alive and but would not be well on planet earth. They did not believe that the existence of the false religion of papal Rome as...

"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth." Mark 12:14 (NAB) They sent their disciples to him, with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. And you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion, for you do not regard a person’s status."Matthew 22:16 They posed this question to him, "Teacher, we know that what you...

Q. What did Martin Luther believe about the Body and Blood of Christ in the bread and wine?A. Martin Luther believed in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He became indignant when groups, who had followed him out of the Catholic Church, rejected the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. He deplored the fact that every milkmaid and farmhand thought they could interpret scripture correctly. Here he is in his own words. Who, but the devil, has granted such license of wresting the words of the holy Scripture? Who ever read in the Scriptures, that my body...

All Things are of God II Corinthians 5:18 by Don Fortner "All things," past, present and future, "all things," in heaven, earth and hell, "all things," regarding angels, men and devils, "all things," good, bad, or indifferent, "all things are of God." This is high doctrine. This is gospel doctrine. This is soul-cheering, heart-comforting doctrine to those who know God. To the degree that we are able to receive this blessed truth of Holy Scripture, that "all things are of God," our hearts will be at peace, resigned to the will of God, submissive to the hand of God, confident...

The religious left of this country seems to delight in mocking the laws of the Old Testament and in making fun of anyone who thinks that these laws should be regarded as part of the inspired word of God. It's amazing how often their sneering attempts at humor simply ignore long-established Christian ideas on how to study the Old Testament and how to apply it to our lives. Jesus and the apostles themselves emphasized the importance of the Hebrew scriptures. Jesus told his followers that he hadn't come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill them. The...

 Catholic Tradition: Life in the Spirit Catholic Tradition often seems odd to those outside the Catholic Church. People assume it's something that we just... "made up." Sacred Tradition comes from Christ. It's the full, living gift of Christ to the Apostles, faithfully handed down through each generation. It is through Tradition that the Holy Spirit makes the Risen Lord present among us, offering us the very same saving Word and Sacraments that he gave to the Apostles! Understanding Catholic Tradition is essential to understanding the Catholic Church and the Catholic Christian faith. Tradition is "handed down" The word "tradition" actually...