THE SPECIFIC CONTRIBUTION OF DIVINO AFFLANTE SPIRITU

WHEN the Letter Divino Afflante Spiritu appeared thirty years ago, it was welcomed with great pleasure and enthusiasm by all serious biblical scholars of that time. 1 It has been considered - and still it is - as the 'magna Charta' of modem in the . 'For Catholic exegesis', wrote Jean Levie, 'it is what Rerum Novarum was for the social question in 1981'.2 A quick glance back­ ward to the Catholic biblical studies in the past thirty years will force the conclusion that in this field P ius XII's Encyclical was really a very bright landmark and that its author deserves the title of 'patron of Catholic biblical studies'. 3 The title of this writing is precisely meant to explain why this Ency­ clical played such a capital importance in these last three decades of Catholic biblical scholarship. Divine Afflante Spiritu was positive, pro­ gressive and liberalising. 'It was an act of liberation, rich in lasting results, coming exactly at the right time, the result of long years of pre­ paration by Catholic exegetes who patiently carried on their work amidst difficulties and who now saw their efforts sanctioned and ratified'. 4

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND This statement invites us to draw a rapid comparison between the state of biblical studies before the publication-of Pius XII's Encycli­ cal and this 'age of the Divine Afflante Spiritu', in which we live quiet­ ly and breath freely. Some background is necessary for the positive evaluation of this document. During the past centuries Catholic biblical scholars had mainly con-

lSee A. BEA, 'Divino Afflante Spiritu. De recentissimis Pii pp XII Litteris Encyclicis',. Biblica 24 (1943) 313-322. U. HOLZMEISTER, 'Litterae Encyclicae Divino Afflante Spiritu', DV 23 (1943) 225-231; A. AHERN, 'Textual Directives of the Encyclical Divino Afflante Spi­ ricu', CBQ 7 (1945) 340-347. 2J. LEVIE, The . Word 0/ God in Words 0/ Men. London, 1961, p. 131. 3 TH. A. COLLINS- R. E. BROWN, 'Church Pronouncements', in The J erome Biblical Cemmentary. London 1968, 72:6. 4 J. LEVIE, ib.

7 8 OONAT SPITERI centrated on the doctrinal content of the Bible. This emphasis was un­ doubtedly correct. But, owing to the undeveloped state of the historical method, earlier exposition of Scripture considerably overlooked the con­ crete facts of literary origins, of oriental idiom, of ethnic and political environment of the Hebrews and other historical and philological consi­ derations. Consequently, the application of critical and historical me­ thods to the study of the Bibl~ introduced a new phase of biblical science and reversed in some way the traditional methods of interpeting the Bible. In liberal non-Catholic circles the principles of higher criticism may be said to have been applied to the Bible early in the 17th century. But in the Catholic Church the stage of transition was rather very slow, ruled as it was by strict cautious directives from above. The period between 1890 and 1914 was the most crucial for the Church's official attitude towards Bible generally and the rights of biblical criticism in particular. The fact that ecclesiastical documents collected together in Enehiridion Biblieum (2nd edition) occupy only 30 pages relating to the period before 1890 and 230 from 1890 to 1953 is clear evidence of the very great importance of this period in the history of Catholic exegesis and the gravity of the problem raised. With the beginning of the Age of the 'Enlightenment' and the application of rational criticism to the Bi­ ble there were Catholics in France ready to make use of the new know­ ledge. Among these the Oratorian priest, Richard Simon (1638-1712), deserve notice as the pioneer of biblical criticism in the modern sense of that term~ An open approach and a frank acceptance of the assured findings of the critico-historical method were already the trend of the Dominican Eeol e Bibli que of Jerusalem, founded in 1889 by that great man Pere Joseph-Marie Lagrange. But soon Modernism came on only to compromise the happy start of open approach to biblical scientific scholarship. Three major interven­ tions of ecclesiastical authority characterise this period and testify to the Church's quick and staunch defence against the danger of Modern­ ism. Pope Leo XIII's (1893), the first authorita­ tive statement on biblical studies, was a reaction to Alfred Loisy's un­ orthodox views. Even so, this great Encyclical promoted positive ap­ proach to the Bible and demanded of biblical scholars to be well equip­ ped in Oriental languages and in the science of biblical criticism. Un­ fortunately the positive trend opened by Leo XIII was curtailed to some CONTRIBUTION OF DIVINO AFFLANTE SPIRITU 9 extent by two later authoritative documents necessitated by the domi­ nant fear of Modernism. These are Pope Pius X's Encyclical P ascendi Dominici gregis and his decree Lamentabili sane exitu, both in the year 1907. Subsequent replies of the Biblical Commission, established by Pope Leo XIII in 1902, followed for a long time the same precaution­ ary trend. No doubt authoritati ve rulings saved Catholic scholars from a number of conclusions dangerous to the Faith, though at the price of al­ most paralysing professional Scriptural study for more than two decades. Catholic exegetes tended to shun contentions issues and continued to be dominated by conservative positions.

PROGRESSIVE AND LIBERALIZING By the 1940's Catholic biblical scholarship was again revlvlOg at a rapid pace. Late in the pontificate of Pope Pius XI there were some signs of change in attitude. The Pontifical Biblical Commission did not issue decrees in these years except for a lone statement on the exeges­ is of two texts in 1933. 5 Then, in 1941 the Commission repudiated an overly conservative distrust of modern biblical research. 6 But the decisive moment for Catholics was the publication in 1943 of Divino Afflcmte Spiritu, in which Pope Pius XII not only encouraged freedom for biblical research, but also explicitly recognised the neces­ sity for a critical approach. Although the Pope saluted the of his predecessors, he announced that time for fear was over and that Catholic scholars should use modern tools in their exegesis. In the in­ troduction to the Encyclical the Pope reveals his intention for writing it: on the one hand, to recall and confirm what Leo XIII and his suc­ cessors had done with regard to the Bible, and on the other hand, to in­ dicate what 'the present time seems to demand in the field of biblical scholarship'. Indeed, Divino Afflante Spiritu. reveals a basic continuity

5 Enchiridion Biblicum (EB, 2nd Ed.) 513-514 6 EB 522-533. This is a 'Letter to the Italian Hierarchy' (29th August 1941) as a response to an anonymous brochure sent to the leading churchmen in Italy un­ der the title: Un gravissimo pericolo per la Chiesa e per le anime. II sistema critico-scienti/ico nella studio e nell'interpretazione dell a Sacra Scrittura, le sue deviazioni /uneste e le sue aberrazioni. The author, who wrote under the pseudonym Dain Cohenel, was later known to have been Don Dolindo Ruotolo. His booklet was a virulent attack against scientific biblical study. The cor­ rective response of th~ Biblical Commission forshadowed the teaching of Divi­ no Ai/lante Spiritu,. 10 OONAT SPITERI

of principle with Providentissimus Deus, reaffirming though with dif­ ferent emphasis the main provisions of the latter and setting them in a wider perspective. Vast technological, archaeological and historical pro gress was made since the Encyclical of Leo XIII. Pope Pius XII frequently emphasized the discoveries made during the previous fifty years and the necessity of critical approach to the Bible as a result of these discoveries. The final aim is that all the sons of the Church devoting themselves to bib­ lical studies 'may receive added encouragement in so necessaty and laudable a task'. What distinguishes specifically Divino Afflante Spiritu from previous ecclesiastical documents relating to the Bible, is its positive and con­ structive character. Earlier pronouncements in general, necessitated as they were by adverse circumstances, had to be negative and restrictive. Divino Afflante Spiritu contains instructions for future work rather than warnings against dangers. This is quite understandable. It touches on and solves with a clarity hitherto unattained various problems. The stress on the use of the principle of literary forms to solve historical problems and the encouragement to make new translations of the Bible from the original languages (rather than from the ) were an en­ couraging invitation to Catholic scholars to begin writing freely again. The effects were soon felt, not only among scholastic circles, but also within the walls of higher authorities. The letter of the Pontifical Bib­ lical Commission to Cardinal Suhard (l948Y reinforced Pius XII's state­ ments. The same Commission stated in 1955 that now Catholic scholars had complete freedom with regard to its own earlier decrees of 1905-15, except were they touched on faith and morals. 8 This meant that Catho­ lics were fre·e to adopt modern positions on the authorship of the Penta­ teuch, the Gospels, etc. But the way to 'complete freedom' in the field of Catholic Ili.blical

7EB 577-581. Se also. the 'Instructien' ef the Biblical Cemmissien en teaching Hely Scripture in Seminaries, issued en the 13th May 1950 (EB 582-610). 8The early decrees must be evaluated accerding to. the 1955 declaratien issued in Latin and in German by A. Miller and by A. Kleinhaus. Se Benediktinische Monatschrift 31 (1955) 49-50; Anto.nianum 30 (1955) 23/29. Many ef the earlier decrees of the Pentifical Biblical Cemmissien new have little mere than his­ teric interest, being implicitly reveked by Divino Alllante Spiritu, and by Vati- can IL • CONTRIBUTION OF DIVINO AFFLANTE SPIRITU 11 studies was opened by Pope Pius XII's Encyclical, justly labelled as 'progressi ve and liberalizing'. 9

INSPIRATION IN NEW PERSPECTIVE Several points of Divino AIIlante Spiritu justify these epithets. And they are points on which Pius XII lays particular emphasis. To our opinion deserve special attention the Encyclical's contribution to a ful­ ler understanding of the enigmatic concept of Inspiration and the new insight on the basic principles of Interpretation. As late as Pope Benedict XV's Spiritus Paraclitus (1920) the activity of God in the literary production of the inspired book was preferibly and more strongly emphasized. Consciousness of the divine origin of the books of Scripture was a constant element in all Chri stian tradition. Holy Scriptures were constantly referred to as the words of God or the writings of God. Especially after Vatican I, the phraseology 'God the author of Scripture' is used more frequently and repeatedly in ecclesias­ tical documents, including Divino AIIlante Spiritu. This has been the the usual way of expressing the divine origin of the books of the Old and , as it was necessitated by contemporaty theories which tended to minimize the superhuman authority of the Bible. That a human factor stands at the origin of Scripture has never been doubted. It must be admitted, however, that the emphasis on the human authorship of Scripture is a modern one. Earlier theological reflection was rather concentrated on the primary and more important fact of the divine origin of the Sacred Books. The role assigned to the human fac­ tor had, and perhaps still has, to be more deeply investigated. This is a point firmly stated by Pius XII in Divino AIIlante Spiritu. where he remarks with considerable emphasis that the human writers employ their faculties and powers in the composition of the inspired books. This is perhaps the most characteristic element of Pius XII's Encyclical. The Pope takes pains throughout to show that man, under the influence of Inspiration, is an active producer making a real personal contribution to the inspired book. He is not thought to be merely a channel or transmit­ ter. Pius XII recalls the fact that Catholic theologians of our age have investigated and explained the nature and effect of divine inspiration better and mor~ fully than was the custom in past centuries. Linguistic studies of the Bible, an increased knowledge of the general cultural

9 J. LEVIE, o.c., p. 142. 12 DONAT SPITERI

background in which the Bible developed, the discovery of cognate li­ teratures and languages - all these, the Pope remarks, help 'to discern the distinctive genius of the sacred writer'. This last expression is reproduced from the Encyclical Spiritus P a­ raclitus of Benedict XV,' who after outlining St ' s teaching, adds: 'There is no doubt that each of the authors of the sacred books freely produced his work by God's inspiration according to his own na­ ture and intelligence', 10 and that each one of them 'uses his own fa­ culties and powers in such a way that from the book which is the fruit of his labour all may easily learn the distinctive genius and the indi­ vidual characteristics and features of each' • 11 It was however, the Encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu which, in this respect as in so many others, both summed up a whole tradition and provided the impetus for further reflection on the individuality of the sacred writer. Pius XII reaffirms the principle of the instrumental sub­ ordination of man to God in the production of the inspired books, as was avowed for centuries by theologians in their endeavours to clarify the mystery of biblical Inspiration; but he revitalizes it by adding that the sacred writer is really the organon or instrument of the - 'and a living and rational instrument' 12 Thus in the light of Divino Af­ fl ante Spiritu the human aspect of the Bible is seen in its right pers­ pective and the relationship between tbe divine and the human is clear­ ly expressed.

THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE Pius XII did more than endorse a view of Inspiration. He insisted that a sound view of Inspiration was the necessary basis for a sound interpretation of Stripture. Since the human author is the living and in­ telligent instrument of the Holy Spirit, it follows that the mind of the Holy Spirit, the ultimate meaning of Scripture, is attainable only through an increasingly deeper understanding of the human author's mind. This is 'the chief law of interpretation'. 13 Accordingly, Pope Pius invites exegetes to consider seriously the importance of investigating the 'literal sense' of Holy Scripture. This

10EB 448 llEB 448. Cf. Divino Afflant~ Spiritu, EB 556. 12EB 556. 13'Summa interpretandi norma', EB 557. Cf. Vatican n, tonstitution Dei Ve1" bum, n.12 CONTRIBUTION OF DIVINO AFFLANTE SPIRITU 13

is the meaning which corresponds to the intention, or the 'mind' of the sacred authors. 'Interpreters should bear in mind that their chief aim must be to discern and determine what is known as the literal sense of the words of the Bible .•• for the clearer understanding of the author's meaning' .14 Consequently the Pope emphasizes that exegetes should be well equippltd with a knowledge of biblical and oriental languages and with aids afforded by the art of . These are require­ ments naturally demanded by the necessity of making recourse to the original texts, 'to seize eagerly upon every .. smallest detail of what has flowed from the pen of the sacred writer under God's inspiration, in or­

der to reach a deeper and fuller understanding of his meaning'. 15 It is to be recalled that before the publication of Divino Afflante Spiritu Catho­ lic theologians and exegetes in general still felt themselves bound by the prescription of the Council of Trent concerning the Latin Vulgate 16 and, consequently, relied on this version for their interpretation of Holy Scripture. Pius XIIV indicates the 'juridical authenticity' of the Vul­ gate, but he equally warns that time was ripe enough for exegetes to base their interpretation on the original text, 'for this, being the actual work of the sacred writer himself, has greater authority and weight than any translation, however excellent, be it ancient and modem'. 17 So the Pope insists earnestly that the interpreter of the Bible 'use every dili­ gence to acquire a more and more thorough knowledge of biblical and other oriental languages, and assist his work of interpretation with all the aids that any branch of philology may supply'. 18 Still in connection with the basic consideration that the written Word of God is a work of human literature, Divino Afflante Spiritu recognized and sanctioned both the ligitimity and the indispensability of the appli­ cation of the principle of Literary Forms in interpreting the Bible. This is undoubtedly a point of most relevant contribution to biblical studies. And it is the outcome of a lengthy, slow and painful evolution in the history of Catholic biblical scholarship since the Encyclical Providen­ tissimus. Divino Afflante Spiritu is the first official document, which approves and recommends the use of the principle of Literary Forms es-

14 . EB 550. !SEB 547. 16 Decretu,m de editione et IlSU Sacrorum Librorum, cf. EB 61-64. 17EB 547. Cf. 549. 18EB 547. . 14 OONAT SPITERI pecially in historical narratives of the Bible. 19 'It is absolutely necessary for the interpreter to go back in SpIrlt to those remote centuries of the East, and make proper use of the aids af­ forded by history, archaeology, ethnology, and other sciences, in order to discover what literary forms the writers pf that early age intended to use, and did in fact employ'. And a serious warning to the interpreter of Scripture follows: 'he may be sure that this part of his task cannot be neglected without great detriment to Catholic exegesis. 20 The fact that in the Divino Afflante Spiritu the Bible is viewed main­ ly as a product of literature should not, however, attract exclusively the mind of exegetes to problems of history and literary criticism. To the believer the Bible is more than a mere book or a collection of books, since in its pages it is God who speaks to man. Thus essentially bib­ lical exegesis transcends the bounds of profane philology. Pius XII is equally very anxious to warn Catholic exegetes to 'be especially care­ ful not to confine their exposition ••• to matters concerning history, ar­ chaeology, philology and similar sciences'. 21 The 'chief object' of their work is to find 'the theological doctrine tOUChing faith and morals of each book and text'. This is the 'theological' meaning of Scripture, which is not ,added to the 'literal', but is included within it. Pius XII distinguishes very carefully two differen t, though inter-related, levels of interpretation - that of scientific criticism and that of theology. While giving the fullest possible scope to the former, he maintains that, of it­ self, it is insufficient for complete understanding of the Bible and needs to be integrated into a theological approach which corresponds to the basic structure of the Christian revelation. Thus the Encyclical requires that the teaching of Holy Scripture should be principally theological. There is nothing essentially new in all this. What makes the Encyclical specific with this regard is its strenuous insistence on the fact that this 'primary theological' interpretation should be based securely on sound literal exegesis. This is, mainly, the specific contribution of Divino Afflante Spiritus to Catholic biblical studies. Pi us XII put the divine Book against its perspecti ve of human history and literature. To explain his thought bet-

19 Benedict XV in Spiritlis, P qraclytu,s only warns against the abuses of using literary forms which compromise the truth of the Bible, EB 461. 20EB 558-560 21 EB 551 CONTRIBUTION OF DIVINO AFFLANTE SPIRITU 15 ter, he makes use of the early Fathers' comparison between Inspiration and Incarnation. 'For just as the substantial Word of God became like to men to all things, without sin, so the words of God, expressed in human language, became in all things like to human speech, except error'. 22 Once this principle of biblical exegesis was officially recognized and recommended, the way of 'complete freedom' was opened to Catho­ lic biblical scholars, that they could follow safely and securely the his­ torico-critical method in their arduous task of interpreting the Bible. Divino Afflante Spiritu opened the way and gave the lead. Hence, along its trend, in contemporary Catholic thouglit great stress is placed on the Bible as being truly the Word of God expressed in words of men. These efforts were crowned by the Constitution of Vatican Council Il, which in less technical language sums up the Catholic modern view of the Inspired Book: 'For the writing of the sacred books, God chose men; he used them in allowing them the usage of their faculties and of all their resources, so that he himself acting in them and by them, they should transmit in writing, as real authors, all that he wished, and only that'. 23 Then what Pius XII's Encyclical contributed specifically and gene­ rally to Catholic biblical scholarship is rightly summed up in the follow­ ing words of late Card. Augustine Bea, who was undoubtedly the most competent to evaluate this biblical document: 'I have repeatedly stated that in many ways the Second Vatican Council would not have been possible without the long and fruitful doctrinal preparation provided by Pope Pius XII ••• ,In the biblical field it is certain that the flourishing development of Catholic biblical studies, due in large part to the ency­ clical Divino Affl ante Spiritu, was what made possible the truly bibli­ cal orientation of the conciliar documents, based, as they were, on scriptural foundations. It was precisely for this reason that the docu­ ments of Vatican IT were rightly appreciated even by our non-Catholic brethren' .24

DONAT SPITERI

22EB 559. This comparison was very familiar to the early Fathers, cf. L. ALON­ So-SCHOCKEL, The Inspired Word, New,York 1965, p.49ff. 23 Dei Verbum, n. 11. 24 'Foreword' to The'" J erome Biblical Commentary, London 1968