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October 16th: Report from the Americas
The following are some highlights of the report that just became available in English from Cardinal Oscar Andrés RODRÍGUEZ MARADIAGA, S.D.B., on October 6. Rodriguez Maradiaga is Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, President of the Episcopal Conferece (HONDURAS)
* In different countries, especially in Central America, the “delegates of the Word” have offered a very special contribution to the Church. The majority of them are lay people who have acquired a Biblical formation, moving from the elementary level to specific preparation courses, and without a doubt they represent a great support for the Church.
* A Summary of the Biblical journey in recent years in America:
-From 1965 to 1985 contact with the Bible text: These are the years of the translations and editions of the Bible, of examples on the part of all the Churches, of the organization of Biblical circles, of the reading and study of the sacred books on the part of the laity and the basic ecclesial communities.
- From 1985 to 1993 contact with the Biblical message: These are the years of Biblical interpretation, of the organization of study centers, of the structuring of methods of Biblical pastoral, Biblical prophecy and the formation of the Biblical ministry.
- From 1993 to 2007 contact with the person revealed in the Bible: Jesus Christ. It is the moment to breathe with both lungs, exegesis and hermeneutics, of the centrality of the Bible in the Church.
- From 2007 onwards, we move from formation to Biblical reading starting from life: a prayerful and meaningful reading. A reading that sets out from discipleship, that is expressed profoundly in the Lectio Divina that goes on to be concerned about the mission.
* Some difficulties encountered in Biblical animation in pastoral life include:
- The conditions of poverty and illiteracy;
- A divorce between exegesis (explanation/interpretation)and the interecclesial community, between exegesis and dogma, between exegesis and the pastoral;
- Biblical fundamentalism in sects and within Catholicism that leads to a reading that encourages passivity.
*Figures and statistics
- We have to remember, as pointed out in the statistics, more than 50% of the world’s Catholics are to be found in the American continent. With four major languages and about 200 minor languages, we are faced with a very variable panorama of Biblical translations. Spanish is certainly one of most spoken languages by Catholics throughout the world. It is therefore very important to have texts adapted for many millions of people.
- Currently in America there are 26 versions or translations approved by the Catholic Church that can be found in different bookshops. Portuguese is one of the most popular languages in America and currently has 12 translations of the Bible.
- English is spoken in the United States, Canada and in a large part of the Caribbean and Central America. There are 5 translations of the New Testament, 1 Book of Proverbs, 6 of the Book of Psalms and 2 complete Bibles.
- French is spoken officially in Canada and in various Caribbean countries. A total of 8 versions of the Bible in French are in circulation.
- The united Biblical societies have 29 Bibles without the Deutero-Canonical books, 17 with them and 29 New Testaments. Different institutions have translated the New Testament into 216 native languages in America, which has been a great cultural battle. Many of these translations are also used by the Catholic Church.
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