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JUBILEE TEACHING

How Catholics interpret the Scriptures

JUBILEE TEACHING FOR JULY 27, 2008 | 17TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Catholics do not interpret the Scriptures as the full message of God, but as a component – the written message that must be interpreted together with the oral traditions passed down to us by the apostles. Through the example of their lives and work, their preaching after Jesus’ death, and the institutions they established, the apostles continued to pass on the Gospel. Today’s church leaders are direct successors to the apostles, passing down through the ages the wisdom learned in earlier times.

Church tradition and acquired belief is just as important as words written in the Bible. Alone, the Bible is not sufficient for understanding the full Christian message. Catholics must also listen to the teaching of the church to make sense of the Scriptures. The Catholic Church does not insist on the literal meaning of the Bible, but it looks behind the words for the intent of the Great Author.

Church tradition includes a long and rich heritage of biblical interpretation. Catholics believe the interpretation provided by the church in any era is the best received wisdom of the time. Thus the Holy Spirit speaks to church fathers to help them interpret the Bible, but they can only understand within the bounds of current human knowledge.

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How Catholics interpret the Scriptures

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