1993 Pontifical Biblical Commission Document, commissioned by Pope John Paul II
This text, prepared by the Pontifical Biblical Commission at the request of Pope John Paul II and presented on April 23, 1993, is a significant review many modern exegetical trends, together with an estimate of them in the light of the Catholic tradition. Its tone is encouraging rather than condemnatory. While noting the limitations of many modern methods of exegesis, it also suggests some values in each of them, and calls on Catholic interpreters to adopt the best available tools in modern scholarship, to expound the sacred text. In his preface to the document, Card. Joseph Ratzinger notes that "This study is never finished; each age must in its own way newly seek to understand the sacred books.�
Our thanks to Dr. Felix Just, who has placed it online at http://clawww.lmu.edu/faculty/fjust/Docs/PBC_Interp.htm
