Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV has emphasized the importance of reading Sacred Scripture within its historical and literary context, cautioning that ignoring these dimensions can lead to distorted interpretations. Speaking during his weekly General Audience on Wednesday, the Pope warned against what he described as “fundamentalist or purely spiritualist readings” of the Bible and reaffirmed the Church’s responsibility to proclaim God’s Word in a way that truly reaches people’s lives and hearts.
Continuing his catechetical reflections on the Second Vatican Council, Pope Leo XIV once again focused on Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. He recalled that this conciliar document stands among the most significant and beautiful texts produced by the Council, as it sheds light on how God continues to communicate with humanity through Scripture.
The Pope explained that the Bible is a privileged place of encounter between God and His people. Through the sacred texts, he said, God continues to speak to men and women of every generation, inviting them to listen, come to know Him more deeply, and grow in love for Him.
Highlighting the deeply human character of Scripture, Pope Leo noted that the biblical books were not composed in a supernatural or otherworldly language. Instead, God, in His immense love, chose to communicate through human words and cultures. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, human authors expressed divine truth using the languages, styles, and forms of their time. Quoting Dei Verbum, the Pope recalled that the Word of God, expressed in human speech, mirrors the mystery of the Incarnation, in which the eternal Word of the Father took on human flesh and fully entered the human condition.
In this way, the Pope said, Scripture reveals not only divine truth but also God’s merciful humility and His desire to draw close to humanity. Both the message and the language of the Bible testify to a God who enters history and speaks in ways people can understand.
Reflecting on centuries of biblical interpretation, Pope Leo XIV stressed that an authentic understanding of Scripture cannot be separated from the historical context in which it was written or from the literary genres employed by its authors. To neglect the human dimension of the biblical text, he warned, risks reducing Scripture to rigid literalism or abstract spirituality approaches that ultimately betray its true meaning.
This principle, he added, is equally relevant to the proclamation of the Word of God today. When Scripture is presented in a way that is detached from real life, ignores human struggles and hopes, or relies on language that is obscure, outdated, or uncommunicative, it loses its power to transform lives. In every era, the Church is called to re-propose the Word of God in language that can be lived, understood, and embodied within history.
The Pope placed special emphasis on the liturgical proclamation of Scripture, insisting that it is meant to speak directly to contemporary believers. In the liturgy, he said, the Word of God should illuminate present challenges, guide moral choices, and offer direction for concrete decisions in daily life.
Pope Leo XIV also underlined that Scripture nourishes both the spiritual life and the charity of the faithful. While the Gospel embraces every dimension of human existence, he reminded listeners that it ultimately transcends all social, cultural, and material realities. For this reason, Scripture cannot be reduced to a purely ethical, social, or philanthropic message. Rather, it is the joyful announcement of the fullness of life both present and eternal offered by God through Jesus Christ.
Concluding his address, the Pope invited the faithful to give thanks to God for the gift of His Word, which continually sustains and nourishes the Church. He also encouraged them to pray that their own words, and even more their lives, may faithfully reflect and never obscure the love of God revealed in Scripture.