Vatican City, Jan 25, 2007 / 08:31 am
At midday today, the Holy Father received members of the ordinary council of the Synod of Bishops, who are currently preparing a General Assembly of the Synod on the subject of Sacred Scripture. Pope Benedict expressed his hope that the synod might help to rediscover the importance of the Bible in the lives of all the faithful.
The Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod, scheduled for October 2008 has as its theme: "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church." The synod’s meeting with the Pope comes just prior to their finalization of the “Lineamenta” (draft guidelines) for the General Assembly, which will be distributed to bishops around the world.
"The spiritual activity which expresses and nourishes the life and mission of the Church is necessarily based on the Word of God," Pope Benedict told the bishops.
That Word, moreover, "being destined for all the Lord's disciples - as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity reminded us - calls for special veneration and obedience, in order for it to be recognized also as an urgent call to full union between all believers in Christ."
Benedict XVI pointed out how the “Lineamenta” the members of the ordinary council are about to complete, "will serve as a valuable tool enabling the entire Church to study the theme of the forthcoming assembly."
The Holy Father concluded by expressing his hope that the upcoming General Assembly "may help to rediscover the importance of the Word of God in the lives of all Christians, and of all ecclesial and civil communities."