Working document for Synod on Bible released

(June 13, 2008) The Bible is the most translated book in the world, but not enough people are reading it, and the Synod of Bishops this October hopes to change the trend. Thisis one of the goals that Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, mentioned on Thursday during a press conference in the Vatican to release the "instrumentum laboris", or working document that will serve as a guide for the Synod. "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church" is the theme of the 12th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Oct. 5-26. The 86-page "instrumentum laboris" was based on responses to questionnaires sent to bishops’ conferences, Synods of the Eastern Churches, dioceses, religious congregations, and entities of the Roman Curia. Archbishop Eterovic pointed out that with translations into 2,454 languages of the world’s some 6,700 languages, 3,000 of which are considered major, the Bible continues to be the most widely translated and distributed book in the world. But “unfortunately,” he said, “it is not very read." The secretary-general gave an example: According to recent research, "only 38% of practicing Catholics in Italy have read a passage of the Bible in the past 12 months." According to the “instrumentum laboris”, the synod should help find ways for Catholics to better understand Scripture and relate it to their everyday lives, including works of justice and charity. It encouraged the trend among Catholics toward daily Scripture reading, but said Sunday Mass is where most people encounter Scripture, and hence called for better coordination of readings and homilies to underline scriptural content.