VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 4, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Observing that a world in search of the truth needs the Bible, John Paul II urged a Catholic group to “make the Scriptures accessible to all peoples.”
The Pope expressed this conviction in a message sent to Bishop Vincenzo Paglia of Terni-Narni-Amelia, on the occasion of the sixth plenary assembly of the Catholic Biblical Federation. The Italian prelate is president of the federation, which is meeting in Beirut, Lebanon, through Sept. 12.
“Trusting in the force and power of the Word of God,” the Pope said in the text, “the Catholic Biblical Federation is given the great responsibility — one belonging to the whole Church — of making the Divine Word accessible to people in all parts of the world, so that it can take root and thrive in their hearts.”
From this follows the “commitment to bringing about a renewed listening to the Word of God, which is a necessary element of the new evangelization,” the Holy Father added.
This effort “also reinforces the bonds of unity that already exist among all Christians,” he said.
John Paul II urged that the assembly be “a fruitful opportunity to evaluate what has been achieved so far and to determine what needs yet to be done to proclaim the Word of God in a world longing for truth.”
