VATICAN CITY, OCT. 15, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The proposals arising from the world Synod of Bishops on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church were summarized this afternoon with 19 questions offered by the relator-general.
The questions were delivered today as part of a 70-minute Latin address by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, archbishop of Quebec City, which concluded the 5-minute interventions from the prelates and auditors. The address summarized all that has arisen thus far in the week and a half of synodal work, including some 230 interventions before the general congregations.
The questions range from fundamental issues, such as «what can be done to help the faithful better understand that the Word of God is Christ,» to concrete suggestions, such as, «how to educate in the practice of lectio divina.»
Cardinal Ouellet’s address, given in the presence of Benedict XVI, will serve as a base for the working groups in the coming days.
These groups will prepare the proposals to synthesize the thought of the synod fathers, which will be given to the Pope as a fruit of the synod. These proposals will serve as a base for the Holy Father’s postsynodal apostolic exhortation.
Here is a translation of the questions, which Cardinal Ouellet clarified are not an exhaustive list.
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1. How can we help the faithful to understand better that the Word of God is Christ, the incarnate Word of God? How can we go deeper in the dialogue dimension of Revelation in theology and in Church practice?
2. What implications are drawn from the fact that the liturgical celebration is the ordinary place for and the summit of the Word of God?
3. How can we educate people in a living hearing of the Word of God, in the Church, for all people and every cultural level?
4. How can we educate people in lectio divina?
5. Is there a need for a compendium to help those preaching homilies better serve the Word of God? (The art of preaching — «ars predicandi»)
6. Is it possible to revise the Lectionary and modify the selections of the readings from the Old and New Testament?
7. What place does the ministerial character of the Word of God have, and what importance must be attributed to this?
8. How can we help people to better understand the intrinsic link between the Word and the Eucharist?
9. What means should be adopted for the translation and spreading of the Bible among the greatest possible number of cultures, in particular among the poor?
10. How can the relationship between exegetes, theologians and pastors be healed and their collaboration be stimulated?
11. How can we go deeper in the sense of Scripture and its interpretation, in the respect for and the balance between the word, the Spirit, the living tradition and the magisterium of the Church?
12. What is thought of the idea of a world conference on the Word of God promoted by the magisterium of the Church?
13. How can the search for the unity of Christians and dialogue with the Jews be developed more around the Word of God?
14. What is understood by a biblical animation of all ministry?
15. What questions merit a more detailed examination from the magisterium of the Church (inerrancy, pneumatology, relation of inspiration-Scripture-tradition-magisterium)
16. How can interreligious dialogue and the dogmatic affirmation of Christ, sole mediator, be reconciled?
17. How can knowledge of the Word of God through other means besides the biblical text be fostered (art, poetry, Internet, etc.)?
18. What philosophical formation is needed to better understand and interpret the Word of God and sacred Scripture?
19. What interpretive criteria of the Word of God ensure an authentic inculturation of the Gospel message?
