• Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Columnists
  • Pope Francis
  • Revista Catolica
  • Subscribe
The Texas Catholic
The Texas Catholic

Dallas, Texas

Today is Sunday, January 17, 2021
  • Home
  • Diocese
  • Bishop Burns
  • Columnists
  • Pope Francis
  • Revista Catolica
  • Subscribe
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
Home
Remembering Vatican II

Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

By Steve Landregan
Special to The Texas Catholic

Fifty years ago if a Catholic family had a Bible, it was probably large, sitting on a table, used to record births, marriages and deaths and preserve memorial cards, but seldom, if ever, was it read.

Catholics accepted the Bible as the inspired word of God and understood and practiced its message, but Bible drills and Bible study were not a major part of Catholic religious formation that was centered on the catechism.

For that reason, the development of historic and textual Biblical criticism which spawned major controversies among Bible churches and helped trigger the fundamentalist movement, went largely unnoticed by most Catholics. Not so the Vatican, which took a cautious and skeptical approach toward “higher criticism” and Pope Leo XIII established the Pontifical Biblical Commission (PBC) in 1902 to ensure that God’s words “be shielded not only from every breach of error but even from every rash opinion.”

Claims that higher criticism proved the Bible was not true clouded the picture. Still, the value of historic and literary criticism began to emerge and modern Catholic Biblical scholarship took shape in institutions like the Dominican L’Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem and the Pontifical Biblical Institute at Gregorian University in Rome. Their work was recognized in 1943 by Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Divino aflante Spiritu that sup¬ported and encouraged Catholic scholars in the “right use” of scientific methods of criticism.

Despite the encyclical, there continued to exist within the Roman Curia and among some at the Lateran University doubts concerning the writings of some Catholic biblical scholars on the historicity of the Gospels, the sources of Divine Revelation and the inerrancy of the Bible. This resulting polarization would define the debate on the Document on Divine Revelation at the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council.
When Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani introduced the schema “De Fontibus Revelationis” (On the Sources of Revelation) prepared by the Theological Commission at the Council, many complained that it took no account of new biblical scholarship. Opposition, particularly among the Northern European bishops, took the form of an unofficial alternative schema which was circulated prior to the debate. (One of the authors was Father Joseph Ratzinger).
Cardinal Ottaviani maintained that documents from his Theological Commission, including De Fontibus, which had been approved by the pope, could not be rejected by the council. Aware of the alternative schema, which he claimed was contrary to Canon Law, he attempted to limit discussion to the Theological Commission’s document.

Reaction to the document and Cardinal Ottaviani’s claims was immediate and intense. It was led by one of the church’s most-respected biblical scholars, German Jesuit Cardinal Augustin Bea, S.J., former rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute and president of the Secretariat for Christian Unity. Cardinal Bea, noted that De Fontibus not only failed to recognize contributions of new scriptural scholarship, but was not pastoral in nature and failed to address the ecumenical dimension stating: “This schema does not correspond to the purposes which the pope determined for the council, which should reflect a concern for the pastoral ministry and unity.”

Objections to the schema centered on its position that Scripture and tradition are two separate sources of Divine Revelation, (based on a disputed passage from the Council of Trent), the nature of how the scriptures are without error (inerrant), and the historicity of the Gospels. Recalling Pope John XXIII’s words in the opening address that “the substance of the deposit of faith is one thing, and the way in which it is presented is another,” the debate centered on whether the traditional understandings of the issues would be confirmed or they should be restated to reflect newer understandings. The outcome promised to impact future ecumenical relations and dialogue.

Many consider the debate the turning point of the council because Pope John XXIII overturned a vote to reject the schema that failed to win the necessary two-thirds majority and returned the schema for revision to a new mixed com¬mission, with Cardinal Ottaviani and Cardinal Bea as co-presidents. The pope’s action was seen as his endorsement of the position of the Northern European bishops and a rejection of strong efforts by some of the Curia to retain the status quo.

When the revised schema was presented, it represented a more moderate position reflecting the intervention of Chicago’s Cardinal Gregory Meyer that “it was the heart of God that was revealed, not propositions.” Among the council fathers there was a strong majority in favor of contemporary Biblical scholarship, despite valiant attempts by some bishops to retain traditional understandings. When the final formal voting on the Constitution, now called Dei Verbum, the Constitution largely reflected new scholarship and understanding. The final vote was 2,344 for, 6 against.

Following the Second Vatican Council, there was a great increase in the reading and the study of scripture among Catholics. Shortly after the council ended, the Jerome Biblical Commentary was published in 1968 reflecting the new biblical scholarship, Father John McKenzie published his excellent Catholic Dictionary of the Bible in 1965 and the English edition of the Jerusalem Bible was published in 1966. Many Bible study programs were developed like the Little Rock Scripture Study program in 1974, and in-depth Bible Study Courses like the four-year program developed by the University of Dallas School of Ministry.

Facebook Twitter Google+ LinkedIn Pinterest
Next article Bishop Gorman's Reflections
Previous article The great work of Jesus Christ: the redemption of the world

Related Posts

Vatican II: Fifty Years Later Remembering Vatican II
Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Vatican II: Fifty Years Later

Diversity of council fathers foreshadowed epochal transition Remembering Vatican II
Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Diversity of council fathers foreshadowed epochal transition

Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity Remembering Vatican II
Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity

Texas Catholic Classics

A look at the five Dallas law enforcement officers who gave their lives while protecting citizens during a mass shooting in downtown Dallas in July 2016.

 

How a child with special needs inspired a high school volleyball team, community and a family who heeded God’s call to protect life.

 

After a young runner collapsed at a Dallas marathon, grace and providence unfolded for those involved in the valiant effort to help her.

   

In the summer of 2016, 50 students and 25 chaperones from Dallas Catholic high schools traveled to Nicaragua for a 10-day mission trip.

 

Early on a November morning, Kenndrick Mendieta bounded from the gym at Cristo Rey Dallas College Prep toward the campus’ athletic fields as clouds lifted on a fresh new day.

 

Subscribe

Get the award-winning Texas Catholic delivered to your door. Use the menu below to subscribe now.


Subscription length




 

Photo Gallery

Click here to find your favorite Texas Catholic photographs.

The Texas Catholic Newspaper

Catholic Diocese of Dallas
David Sedeno, Editor

3725 Blackburn Street
Dallas, Texas 75219
(214) 379-2800

Our Affiliated Sites

Texas Catholic Youth

Revista Católica

Legal and Other

Contact us

Terms of service

Privacy policy

Site map

Site powered by TexasCatholicMedia

© 2013-2019 The Texas Catholic Publishing Company. All rights reserved.