Pontifical Biblical Commission Research Articles

Inspiration and Truth in the Book of Revelation. An Exegetical Comment on the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s Document “Ispirazione e verità della Sacra Scrittura” (2014)

The Book of Revelation confronts its readers with the problem of violence and irrationality, thereby putting at stake its claim to inspiration and truth. In a canonical and pastoral approach, the document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission explains this unruly book as an expression of Christ’s “burning love”. However, Revelation offers its reader a dramatic counter-world, in which neither love nor logic may be learnt but the coping with passion and “tears”. The visionary strategy (1) gives the Christians insights into their own truth, (2) establishes their very own, “heavenly” perspective, (3) meticulously provides them with theocentric knowledge of the purpose of their everyday struggles, (4) transforms them by a dramatic experience of redemption, and (5) lets them encounter Christ in an experience of longing and trust.

DEI VERBUM “ALKITAB BUKU YANG TERBUKA”

The Dogmatic Constitution Dei Verbum on Divine Revelation opens us towards 
 God’s self revelation in the whole universe in order that all be gathered in Christ
 into full communion with the Triune God. This official teaching sees revelation as
 a dialogue of love, and a response in faith which is personal, dynamic, historical
 and centred on Christ and the Spirit. With this broad understanding of
 revelation, the Dei Verbum Constitution goes on to open up ways of interpreting
 the Scriptures and understanding how the Scriptures have been read in history
 (Tradition), thus opening up Bible study as the soul of theology, as well as the
 anima of prayer, liturgy and spirituality. The local Churches of Indonesia, Asia
 and the world, including the Society of the Divine Word (SVD), have responded
 to the invitation to participate in this divine dialogue of love by receiving God’s
 Word graciously and proclaiming it faithfully in daily life. The essay ends by 
 noting the contribution of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, the Catholic 
 Biblical Federation, Lembaga Biblica Indonesia, St. Paul’s Biblical Centre
 Ledalero, and the Biblical Apostolate Diocesan Commissions of Nusa Tenggara
 Ecclesial Province in Indonesia which have facilitated Bible sharing in grassroots
 communities. 
 
 <b>Kata-kata kunci:</b> Wahyu, Alkitab, buku terbuka, animasi, mendengar,
 dialog, mewartakan, kepenuhan hidup, tradisi, penafsiran, doa, refleksi,
 aksi.

Hermeneutics of “Revealed Morality” in the Document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, “The Bible and Morality: Biblical Roots of Christian Conduct”

The purpose of this paper is the critical analysis of the document of Pontifical Biblical Commission (PBC): Bible and Morality. Biblical Roots of Christian conduct (2008) and specifically the hermeneutical reflection on the “revealed morality”. The nature of consideration on the dokument is especially hermeneutical, beginning with the key concept, namely “revealed morality”. The article is divided into two parts and preceded by a brief contextualization. In Part I is present the analysis of the document, highlighting the most important points for the biblical and moral reflection. In Part II we shall focus on the hermeneutics of the document and the developments that these indications can offer us today, in order to clarify the roles of the two disciplines and thereby contribute to a fruitful interdisciplinary dialogue.

Examining the Role of the Reader: A Necessary Task for Catholic Biblical Interpretation

Thanks to the explosion of methods and hermeneutical frameworks that have surfaced in biblical studies since the 1970s, the discipline looks very different today than when Catholic scholars were first openly permitted to engage it. Among these approaches are those that foreground the complex role the real flesh-and-blood reader plays in interpretation. Recent discussion on what makes biblical interpretation “Catholic” reveals it to be a contested topic. Through an analysis of the Pontifical Biblical Commission'sThe Interpretation of the Bible in the Churchand Frank M. Yamada's article “What Does Manzanar Have to Do with Eden? A Japanese American Interpretation of Genesis 2–3,” the present article enters the discussion over what constitutes Catholic biblical interpretation to argue that it must integrate hermeneutical approaches that foreground real readers within the context of lived realities.

Catholicism and Evolution: A History from Darwin to Pope Francis by Michael Chaberek, O.P.

Reviewed by: Catholicism and Evolution: A History from Darwin to Pope Francis by Michael Chaberek, O.P. John Baptist Ku O.P. Catholicism and Evolution: A History from Darwin to Pope Francis. By Michael Chaberek, O.P. Kettering, Ohio: Angelico, 2015. Pp. x + 354. $21.95 (paper). ISBN: 978-1-62138-137-2. In Catholicism and Evolution, Michael Chaberek mounts a case against the theory of evolution in ten chapters and an appendix. He believes that the Catholic Church unambiguously ruled out the evolution of man's body but has, more recently, allowed a plurality of views, even mutually exclusive ones (3). He rejects Darwin's theory for philosophical reasons, because it appears to imply that a species has no proper end of simply being itself. That is, according to evolution, "each being by nature strives to become something else" so that "over time, a bacterium is supposed to turn into a plant, a reptile into a bird, a monkey into a man" (4). He also rules out evolution on scientific grounds, maintaining that "it is impossible to transform from one nature to another by way of small accidental changes" (3). The (theological) solution, as he sees it, is offered by intelligent design theory, which provides an "adequate scientific background for further development of the doctrine of creation within Catholic theology" (5). [End Page 453] In chapter 1, Chaberek reports on the birth of the evolutionary paradigm in the mid-eighteenth century among Charles Darwin and his less-well-known precursors, and examines the core neo-Darwinian principles of mutation and natural selection that explain the evolution of new species. Quoting Étienne Gilson, Chaberek reasons that because the term "evolution" refers to an unfolding of something preexisting, "creative evolution" is contradictory and impossible (7). That is, either there is something there already, with its potencies in place to unfold, or else there is a creator creating something new. In addition to challenging the principles of evolution, Chaberek exposes evolution's theme of strife, over against a view of an harmonious world, and Darwin's aggressive agenda. Chapter 2, "From Biblical Creationism to Intelligent Design," outlines the principal positions on evolution: young-earth creationism, progressive creationism, theistic evolution, and atheistic evolution. Chaberek traces the trajectory from young-earth or scientific creationism to intelligent design theory before discussing the emergence of theistic evolution. Young-earth creationism seeks scientific proof of Genesis's account of a six-day creation and of biblical genealogies that would establish the earth's age at less than 10,000 years. Intelligent design scientists "believe that natural selection and random mutations cannot explain the entire complexity of the organic world" (42). Thus, the intelligent ordering of things in the universe would require an intelligent producer. In chapter 3, "Early Statements of the Magisterium on Evolution," Chaberek comments on the 1860 Synod of Cologne, Vatican I's Dei Filius (1870), and Leo XIII's Arcanum (1880). Chaberek interprets the Cologne Synod to rule out the evolution of the human body in its determination that it is against the faith to hold that "man as regards his body, emerged finally from the spontaneous continuous change of imperfect nature to the more perfect" (73). And Chaberek takes Dei Filius's assertion that "the world and all things which are contained in it … were produced, according to their whole substance," to be a challenge to the theory of evolution (79). Moreover, he understands Leo XIII's formulation that God "miraculously took [Eve] from the side of Adam" to preclude her evolution (82). Chapter 4, "The Rise of Catholic Evolutionism," presents six Catholic figures who published proevolution works: George Mivart (1871); Fr. Raffaello Caverni (1877); Fr. Dalmace Leroy, O.P. (1891); Fr. James Zahm, C.S.C. (1896); Bishop Geremia Bonomelli (1898); and Bishop John Hedley (1898). Caverni and Hedley stopped short of saying that the human body evolved. Caverni's, Leroy's, and Zahm's books ended up on the Index, and Bonomelli issued a retraction of sorts. In chapter 5, "The Pontifical Biblical Commission Decrees, 1905-1909," Chaberek determines that this Commission's decree of 1909 "claims that Genesis tells a true history of the creation of the world...

Una vida dedicada al servicio de la Palabra de Dios

This interview was realized at the Seminary of the Archdiocese of La Plata, Argentina, on February 16, 2015. It was made within the framework of the International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, held in Buenos Aires in July 2015, and as part of the Argentine Biblical Association project from research and development data collection of Biblical Studies and Exegesis in Argentina. The conversation has been edited and transcribed into five thematic sections: 1. The book of the People of God; 2. Biblical Review; 3. Pontifical Biblical Commission; 4. The Latin American Biblical Commentary; and 5. Inspiration and Legacy.

Aktualizacja Pisma Świętego według dokumentu Papieskiej Komisji Biblijnej „Interpretacja Biblii w Kościele” jako nowy sposób odniesienia słowa Bożego do życia

Aktualizacja Pisma Świętego jest dzisiaj zadaniem koniecznym. Z jednej strony mamy teksty biblijne uwarunkowane przez czasy, w których powstawały, a z drugiej współczesnego czytelnika, również uwarunkowanego swoimi czasami, pragnącego żyć Słowem Bożym. Dokument Papieskiej Komisji Biblijnej Interpretacja Biblii w Kościele z 1993 roku w swej czwartej części podejmuje to zagadnienie. Celem artykułu było przeanalizowanie wypowiedzi dokumentu na temat aktualizacji i przedstawienie jej jako nowego, szczególnego i wciąż nie dość zgłębionego sposobu odniesienia przesłania Biblii do życia współczesnych wierzących.

La transmisión de los textos como criterio para su interpretación

The article, commenting on a passage of the document The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, briefly explains the concept of literal sense and the written texts’ quality of being reread. The article shows that the reduction of the exegetical work to the study of texts might lead to forgetting that the latter is a part of a process of communication that constitutes a decisive hermeneutical criterion. The article then describes different communicative processes that take place in and through written texts, paying a special attention to the process that comes about in the transmission of texts. To achieve its objective, this article also alludes to various considerations made by cultural analysts and applies their approaches to the case of the Sacred Scripture. Finally, the article explains how the Scriptures register in some passages the process of their proper transmission.

Book Review: The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture. By the Pontifical Biblical Commission and Theology, History and Biblical Interpretation: Modern Readings. Edited by Darren Sarisky

Book Review: The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture. By the Pontifical Biblical Commission and Theology, History and Biblical Interpretation: Modern Readings. Edited by Darren Sarisky

A Stranger in the Sacred College of Cardinals: contextual and heuristic problems in investigating Cardinal van Rossum

In the first decades of the last century, non-Italian curia cardinals were rare. In our paper, we look at some of the problems historians encounter when dealing with their life and work. Our example is the Dutch cardinal Willem van Rossum CSsR (1854-1932), president of the Pontifical Biblical Commission since 1914 and prefect of Propaganda Fide since 1918. As such, he was an influential member of the curia, responsible for an important turn in the Vatican mission policy, but he is almost absent in the historiography. Several factors seem to account for that, both of a contextual and heuristic nature. The fact that he was a non-Italian made him an outsider, as well as being a religious and stemming from a humble social background. He did not easily move in the elitist circles and networks in Rome, nor did he clearly belong to one of the factions inside the curia. Unlike other foreign curia cardinals, he was ill-disposed toward politics and lacked the support of his national government and episcopate. Moreover, his personality and strong principles made him less than pliable, while on the other hand he liked to keep in the background. He was never granted access to some of the most influential bodies inside the curia. All this seems to have kept him in the shadows, while the official archival papers are unclear about his personal actions and influence. At the same time many informal documents are written in Dutch and therefore out of reach of most historians. Finally, several important Vatican sources proved to be untraceable or inaccessible.

Teaching about Catholic–Jewish relationships: interpreting Jewish hostility to Jesus in the gospels

A recent article in this journal, Teaching about Catholic–Jewish relations: some guidelines to assist the work of teachers in Catholic schools, by Clare Jardine (Volume 7, no 1, 46–60), includes a page on ‘A new approach to New Testament studies’. There the author points out that ‘The situations described in the Gospels as happening during Jesus’ lifetime often reflect a later situation … growing hostilities between the Jewish community and the emerging Church’ (54). This is entirely in line with the teaching of Vatican II in Nostra Aetate (the declaration on the relationship of the Church with non-Christian religions, passed by the Second Vatican Council in 1965. Originally formed as a document on the relationship of the Church to Judaism, it was later expanded to include other major religions. It transformed the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church to other religions, expressing a completely new attitude of welcome and fraternity. The full text is available online, s.v. Nostra Aetate) and particularly with the 2001 study of the Pontifical Biblical Commission. There is room for further investigation, firstly on the extent and nature of the Jewish opposition to Jesus during his lifetime, and secondly on the growth and nature of the hostility between the Jewish community and the emerging Church. This hostility is evident in frequent little touches and interpretations in the course of the Gospel narratives, such as interpretations which spring from the evangelist's own reading of the situation: ‘hoping for something with which to accuse him’ (Mark 3.2), ‘testing him’ (8.11), ‘trying him out’ (10.2), ‘they were seeking to destroy him’ (11.18), ‘to catch him out’ (12.2), they ‘were seeking to arrest him by stealth’ (14.1). Most of all, we must question the extent to which the apportionment of blame between Pilate and the Jewish authorities in the condemnation of Jesus depends on the later reading of the facts.

Sant’Anselmo in Rome: College and University. From the Beginnings to the Present Day by Pius Engelbert, O.S.B.

Sant'Anselmo in Rome: College and University. From the Beginnings to the Present Day. By Pius Engelbert, O.S.B. Translated by Henry O'Shea, O.S.B. (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press. 2015. Pp. xii, 319. $39.95. ISBN 978-0legeville,MN: Liturgical Press. 2015. Pp. xii, 319. $39.95. ISBN 978-0-8146-3713-5.)Pius Engelbert, former abbot of Gerleve Abbey and longtime professor of ecclesiastical history at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant'Anselmo, has rendered a service in writing this book. Liturgical Press also merits gratitude from the reader for providing Henry Shea's translation of the German original and packaging it in a durable, elegant edition. The work was first published in 1988 for the centennial observance of Sant'Anselmo and was given an update in 2012.Capable historian that he is, Engelbert situates the origin of Sant'Anselmo in the context of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIII. He adroitly uses the founding charter of 1887 to point out the pope's desire to see Sant'Anselmo serve as an ecumenical lifeline to the Eastern Churches, even as it was to provide for an appropriately Benedictine school of higher studies. All of this coincided with the intent of Leo XIII to centralize the organization of the Benedictine Confederation under the auspices of the Vatican. The first years of the project were precarious ones, and this is where the author provides some valuable research. Property for the buildings of the school was purchased only in 1890, on Rome's Aventine Hill, a site that had roots of monasticism going back to Cluny and early abbeys of the twelfth century. Professors and students, after spending several years in various sites in Rome, moved into the residence on the Aventine in October 1896.It is striking for the American reader to see that some of the most avid supporters of this venture were from the United States. In particular, Abbot Boniface Wimmer of St. Vincent's in Pennsylvania saw the prospect of an international school and community as the renewed vision of his own house of St. Elizabeth in Rome, established several decades earlier. St. Vincent's would soon send two professors, three students, and a generous financial donation for the new Sant'Anselmo. The American presence at Sant'Anselmo in these early years is notable. Adalbert Miller of St. Vincent was the prefect of studies and the first prior. Thomas Weikert of St. Meinrad, appointed one of the first members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, was an instructor. Unfortunately, both of these men died suddenly in 1906. Another American, Patrick Cummins of Conception Abbey, was named rector in 1920 and provided five years of leadership. His confrere at Conception Abbey, Augustine Bachofen, was a renowned professor in that same era.The dominant shape of the administration and faculty in the early years at Sant'Anselmo, however, was German. This was especially through the Beuronese Congregation. The first two abbot primates, Hildebrand de Hemptinne and Fidelis von Stozingen, were Beuronese. The Beuronese also contributed the core of lay brothers who helped in the maintenance of the school in its formative years. This German presence was to grow even in the face of the challenges of World War I and World War II. The only time in its history when the entire academic life ceased to exist were the years 1915-18 as a result of the war. Even as the fledgling entity was facing its challenges from world events, Engelbert notes the emergence of a number of questions that were to recur throughout Sant'Anselmo's history: the need to recruit a sizable number of professors from monasteries to staff the faculty, the need to provide a model of monastic observance and formation for the younger monks of the House, and the need to find a mode of governance that best suited the institution.For Engelbert, the decades of the 1930s and 1950s were seen as a type of golden age. Enrollment increased, and influential professors held sway. He rightly points out how indispensable the financial donations of the American monasteries were in keeping Sant'Anselmo above water during World War II and its aftermath. …

An Introductory Survey of the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s 2014 Document: The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture

An Introductory Survey of the Pontifical Biblical Commission’s 2014 Document: The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture

Nuevos aprendizajes. Ejemplos de lectura praxeológica de la Biblia

El presente artículo es una propuesta de apropiación del movimiento teológico y pastoral que se ha fundamentado en el concepto de praxeología, orientado ya hacia la fundamentación metodológica y práctica de la lectura de la Biblia, proporcionando una reflexión sobre el uso y aporte de la Sagrada Escritura a todos los procesos generadores de fe y de transformación social y comunitaria.En primer lugar se hará un breve esbozo de la situación actual de la exégesis, de su apertura a nuevos métodos y acercamientos a la lectura de la Biblia (conceptos que han sido profundizados por la Pontificia Comisión Bíblica en el documento: La Interpretación de la Biblia en la Iglesia, 1993). Luego se presentará la vertiente de la praxeología y sus contenidos metodológicos siguiendo los aportes de Carlos Juliao en su propuesta de legitimar el enfoque praxeológico para y desde la formación universitaria en Uniminuto, Colombia; y en tercer lugar, se aplicarán los conceptos, ideas y pasos de esta propuesta en la lectura de un texto bíblico del Antiguo Testamento.

O natchnieniu, Bożym objawieniu i prawdzie Biblii w duszpasterstwie

Artykuł koncentruje się na dokumencie opublikowanym w 2014 roku przez Papieską Komisję Biblijną zatytułowanym Natchnienie i prawda Pisma świętego. Słowo, które od Boga pochodzi i mówi o Bogu, aby zbawić świat. Celem tej publikacji było dotarcie do kapłanów, ludzi studiujących Biblię, a także do wiernych świeckich. Odkrywając prawdę biblijną, każdy może lepiej zrozumieć siebie, stworzenie i Boga. Każdy może solidnie wzrastać w swojej wierze. Według dokumentu Boże natchnienie objawia się nam, gdy czytamy Pismo Święte. Na kartach Biblii możemy spotkać samego Boga. Przesłanie płynące w Biblii wyjaśnia prawdę o Bogu, człowieku, naszym zbawieniu i o świecie. Chociaż zawiera ona pewne elementy nauki czy historii, nie jest źródłem poznania naukowego ani kroniką historycznych faktów. Poza tym musimy zawsze uwzględniać gatunek i styl starożytnych autorów. Dokument może mieć znaczący wpływ na pracę duszpasterską, pomagając ludziom zainteresować się Biblią i znaleźć odpowiedzi na wiele pytań.

Prawda historyczna Pisma Świętego. Refleksja na kanwie nowego dokumentu Papieskiej Komisji Biblijnej

Nowy dokument Papieskiej Komisji Biblijnej pt. Natchnienie i prawda Pisma Świętego rozwija temat prawdy w Biblii także w kontekście problemów historycznych, jakie rodzą teksty biblijne. Konsensus współczesnych nauk historycznych i archeologicznych zmierza w kierunku separowania historii biblijnej od historii jako nauki. W artykule przedstawiam stan współczesnej dyskusji na ten temat, a następnie pytam, jak dokument Papieskiej Komisji Biblijnej traktuje omawiane zagadnienie. Na końcu proponuję kierunki dalszych prac, by owocny dialog biblistów i historyków pomagał coraz lepiej zrozumieć istotę i sens słowa Bożego jaśniejącego w Piśmie Świętym.

Prawda Pisma Świętego jako owoc natchnienia

Na tle przedsoborowej, soborowej i posoborowej nauki na temat prawdy Pisma Świętego autor przedstawia jej oryginalne ujęcie w dokumencie Papieskiej Komisji Biblijnej Natchnienie i prawda Pisma świętego. Podkreśla, że dokonano przesunięcia akcentu: z prawdy koniecznej do zbawienia na prawdę o Bogu, który chce zbawić człowieka. Słowo Boże, które jako natchnione pochodzi od Boga, mówi o Bogu. Prawda Pisma Świętego, zauważa autor, ma charakter performatywny, polifoniczny i jest wyrażona w formach uwarunkowanych historycznie i literacko. Rozwijana jest w kolejnych księgach Biblii wraz z rozwojem objawienia w kolejnych etapach historii zbawienia. Treścią prawdy Pisma Świętego jest w pierwszym rzędzie orędzie o Bogu Stworzycielu i o Bogu, który objawia się jako Osoba w Jezusie Chrystusie. Z kolei prawda o zbawieniu koncentruje się w zmartwychwstaniu Chrystusa i w orędziu o chrześcijaninie, który staje się dziedzicem Królestwa Bożego. Ze szczególną mocą podkreśla rolę słowa Bożego w procesie zbawienia człowieka. „Prawdziwe słowa Boże” to nośniki zbawczej nowości Chrystusa-Pana, która przemienia „starego człowieka” w „nowe stworzenie”.

Richard Špaček o Janově evangeliu: Kapitola z dějin české biblistiky

Richard Spacek (1864-1925) is primarily known as Professor of dogmatic theology and Dean of Sts Cyril and Methodius Faculty of Theology in Olomouc. It is, however, less known that he began his academic career as a New Testament scholar. This article analyses his paper The Fourth Gospel in Protestant Scholarship, published in the periodical Journal of the Catholic Clergy (Casopis katolickeho duchovenstva) in 1909. I claim that Spacek composed this text, which is a compilation of several German sources, with two intentions. First, he aimed at providing the Czech Catholic clergy with an answer to the translation of Harnack's History of Dogma. Second, he struggled to provide a solution to historical-critical questions, which would be in accord with the recent decision of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.

About This Issue

About This Issue David J. Endres This issue, the second of two exploring U.S. Catholics’ engagement with the Bible, brings together contributions from Biblical exegetes, historians, and a scholar of religious culture. The articles highlight various ways the Scriptures have influenced Catholic life, devotion, and practice, especially in the post-Vatican II era. Several contributions highlight the work of U.S. Catholic Biblical scholars of international renown. We are grateful to contributors: Ronald D. Witherup, S.S., superior general of the Society of Priests of St. Sulpice (Sulpicians), provincial of its U.S. Province, 1997−2008, and previously academic dean and professor of Sacred Scripture, St. Patrick’s Seminary, Menlo Park, California. Gilbert A. Enderle, C.Ss.R., permanent member, Redemptorist Historical Institute, Rome, Italy; Patrick J. Hayes, archivist, Baltimore Province of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), based in Brooklyn, New York. Donald Senior, C.P., president emeritus and professor of New Testament studies, Catholic Theological Union, Chicago. He serves on the Pontifical Biblical Commission and as editor of The Bible Today. John R. Donahue, S.J., the Raymond E. Brown Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies (emeritus), St. Mary’s Seminary and University, Baltimore, Maryland. Hillary Kaell, assistant professor of religion, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Contributors to our review of William L. Portier’s new book, Divided Friends: Portraits of the Roman Catholic Modernist Crisis in the United States, include: C. J. T. Talar, professor of theology, University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas. Kevin E. Schmiesing, research fellow, the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, Grand Rapids, Michigan. His research and writing focus on the Catholic intellectual tradition, social thought, and economics. Harvey Hill, priest of St. David’s Episcopal Church, Agawam, Massachusetts, and formerly associate professor of religion, Berry College, Mt. Berry, Georgia. And William L. Portier, the Mary Ann Spearin Professor of Catholic Theology, department of religious studies, University of Dayton, Dayton, Ohio. [End Page i] Copyright © 2014 The Catholic University of America Press

Vybrané inspirace obsažené v prvních třech kapitolách Dei verbum padesát let po zahájení koncilu

The contribution of this article is twofold. Firstly, the author points out the basic inspiration contained in the first half of Dei verbum. Secondly, he also highlights the further development of theological reflection in the field. This enquiry reveals the weak points of Dei verbum such as the issue of the so-called natural revelation and a deeper reflection on the possibility of Mariological inspirations in the field of the theology of word. Furthermore, the development of theological hermeneutics in general and the theological problem of inculturation in particular represents the most profound shift in the last fifty years. This shift must be reflected as a complementary perspective to what Dei verbum teaches about the apostolic tradition. Indeed, it is necessary to clearly distinguish the apostolic tradition (which is ‘above’ cultures) from ecclesial traditions (‘within’ cultures). The author further suggests some changes in the Czech translation of the text of the constitution. Moreover, he stresses the importance of the “Notification” which specifies the authority of the constitution and the document on The Historicity of the Gospels issued by the Pontifical Biblical Commission.