The Scripture Documents: An Anthology of Official Catholic Teachings

Catholic Press Association Award Winner! 
In order to promote the Church's ongoing efforts to share the boundless riches of the divine Word with the faithful entrusted to its care" (Dei Verbum 25), The Scripture Documents reproduces in one volume key documents that record Catholic teaching on the interpretation of the Bible.

Intended as a reference work, this collection of conciliar, papal, and curial documents on sacred Scripture includes for each official document a brief historical introduction that facilitates a contextual understanding of each document, a running annotation, and a select bibliography of available commentaries and related works.

Like the Canon of Scriptures itself, this collection includes various kinds of documents authored by different Roman ecclesiastical authorities within the Church's Teaching Office and expressed in several different literary forms. Each document addresses issues and problems peculiar to the historical situation in which it was written.

The Scripture Documents provides easy access to those official documents that record some of the Church's efforts to promote and guide the study of the Bible among the faithful. The teaching these instructions convey is helpful for all who seek to read and interpret the Scriptures in the light of faith.

Dean P. Bechard, SJ, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Theology at Fordham University.

In order to promote the Church?s ongoing efforts ?to share the boundless riches of the divine Word with the faithful entrusted to its care? (Dei Verbum 25), The Scripture Documents reproduces in one volume key documents that record Catholic teaching on the interpretation of the Bible. Intended as a reference work, this collection of conciliar, papal, and curial documents on sacred Scripture includes for each official document a brief historical introduction that facilitates a contextual understanding of each document, a running annotation, and a select bibliography of available commentaries and related works. Like the Canon of Scripture itself, this collection includes various kinds of documents authored by different Roman ecclesiastical authorities within the Church?s Teaching Office and expressed in several different literary forms. Each document addresses issues and problems peculiar to the historical situation in which it was written. The Scripture Documents provides easy access to those official documents that record some of the Church?s efforts to promote and guide the study of the Bible among the faithful. The teaching these instructions convey is helpful for all who seek to read and interpret the Scriptures in the light of faith. ?. . .destined to be a scholar?s manual.? Grace & Truth?Dean B‚chard has performed a wonderful service in compiling this collection of official Catholic conciliar, papal, and curial documents pertaining to the Bible. His well chosen and well presented anthology shows how the Scriptures have been and are read in the Catholic church. These authoritative texts will be of great interest not only to biblical specialists, theologians, and church historians, but also to all who want to understand what Catholics think about the Bible and how they interpret it.? Daniel J. Harrington, S.J. Weston Jesuit School of Theology Cambridge, Massachusetts?For some decades English-speaking students of the Bible have lacked a convenient anthology of important Catholic Church pronouncements. The present collection, very ample in scope, admirably fulfills this need. The documents are judiciously selected and in many cases given in fresh and reliable translations. The editor?s bibliographical notes will be of great assistance to scholars.? Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. Laurence J. McGinley Professor Fordham University?This collection of documents and bibliographies is an excellent resource for understanding the development of Catholic approaches to Scripture.? The Catholic Biblical Quarterly?A collection of conciliar, papal, and curial documents that record official church teaching on the reading and study of Scripture. The conciliar section includes documents from the Council of Trent and Vatican I and II. The papal documents begin in 1893 with Leo XIII?s Providentissimus Deus and include five statements of John Paul II. The curial documents concentrate on the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Footnotes, bibliographies, and indexes provide valuable scholarly tools.? The Catholic Journalist