Pope: Young people need easy access to Sacred Scripture

By Devin Watkins

Pope Leo XIV met on Monday with the members of the Catholic Biblical Federation, expressing his gratitude for their service to the Word of God.

He reflected on the 60th anniversary of Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, and the Second Vatican Council’s call for Sacred Scripture to be easily accessible and glorified everywhere.

The Pope said the document conveys “a strong desire, a firm conviction, and a pastoral approach”.

“The teaching of Dei Verbum is unequivocal,” he said. “We are called ‘to hear the Word of God with reverence and to proclaim it with faith,’ and ‘easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful’.”

The Catholic Biblical Federation shares that same goal, noted the Pope, as it seeks to make the Word of God a key part of pastoral ministry and offer it as a source of dynamic inspiration for the Church.

Pope Leo invited the biblical scholars gathered in Rome to renew their fidelity to their mandate, which he said is “nothing less than the proclamation of the kerygma, the saving mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The Church, he added, always draws her life from the Gospel by listening with attentive love to Christ.

“From the Gospel, she continually rediscovers the direction for her journey, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who teaches all things and reminds us of everything the Son has said.”

Pope Leo XIV then reflected on what the term “easy access” to Sacred Scripture means in our own time.

He noted that the faithful must be encouraged to read the Bible, so as to personally encounter the love of God expressed in human words.

“Today, new generations inhabit new digital environments where the Word of God is easily overshadowed,” he said. “New communities often find themselves in cultural spaces where the Gospel is unfamiliar or distorted by particular interests.”

The Pope invited members of the Catholic Biblical Federation to ask themselves how the Church can best help people who have never heard the Word of God gain access to it.

“I hope these questions inspire in you new forms of biblical outreach, capable of opening pathways to the Scriptures, so that God’s Word may take root in people’s hearts and lead all to live in His grace,” he said.

In conclusion, Pope Leo invited all Christians to become “‘living letters… written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God,’ bearing witness to the primacy of God’s Word over the many voices that fill our world.”

“May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the womb through which the Word became flesh,” he said, “teach us the art of listening, strengthen us in obedience to His Word, and guide us to magnify the Lord.”