An explanation of the method, an introduction, the data themselves and an interpretation of the results in view of the biblical pastoral ministry can be found here.

For the time being, the texts and data are available in English only; translations into other languages are being prepared.

The Catholic Biblical Federation represents the worldwide multiplicity of the Catholic faith. Its more than 330 member institutions in 134 countries of the world are committed to insuring that people can experience the life-giving message of the Bible in their daily lives.

Rooted in the Catholic Church, the Catholic Biblical Federation avows itself to ecumenical and interconfessional dialogue. It promotes tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions and is actively engaged on behalf of reconciliation, justice and peace.

Through its commitment to the Gospel, the Catholic Biblical Federation tries to play an active role in building a world in which the values of love of God and neighbor, of justice and responsibility are the core of all activity.

The Holy Father also named a number of other representatives of CBF member institutes as attendees, some representing their Bishops´ Conferences, others as experts or auditors. Thus the CBF had a strong presence at the Synod and had the opportunity to introduce some of CBF´s main concerns and goals.

The Synod brought together some 250 bishops and other representatives at the Vatican to discuss the theme "The Word of God in the Life and the Mission of the Church."

You will find the concluding message of the Synod here. The preliminary version of the "Propositiones" exists only in Italian at the moment and can be found here. Further information will follow soon.

In his message of condolence CBF General Secretary Alexander M. Schweitzer writes:

"Yesterday we received the sad news about the unexpected death of our former president Bishop Wilhelm Egger o.f.m. cap. As president Bishop Egger has guided and represented the CBF from 1996 to 2002; as a noted biblical scholar he has enriched our work and as a lover of the Word of God he has inspired our Federation. On Saturday night, August 16, the Lord has called Bishop Egger to his eternal home.

We thank Bishop Egger for the energy, the creative power and the love he has put into our Federation and we ask the God of life that he may now grant His servant life in the full. We are filled with sentiments of gratitude towards Bishop Egger and we keep him in our memories and prayers. R.I.P."

A more detailed obituary will be published in the next issue of the magazine Bulletin Dei Verbum. (Photograph: Diocese of Bolzano-Bessanone)

• Over 80% of the questioned classified the Bible as of interest and demanded a presence for it in the public of their respective communities (e.g. instruction in the schools).
• About 75% of the questioned reported that they owned a Bible, while at the same time about 70% admitted that the Bible contains "complicated texts" that can be accessed only with difficulty without interpretation helps.
• On average, fewer than 10% of the questioned declare that the Bible contains texts directly revealed by God (ca. 30% in the USA and Poland), which should be interpreted literally and word-for-word.
• The result that a directly proportional co-relation exists between a fundamentalist approach to the Bible and poor grades when it comes to knowledge of the Bible is perhaps less surprising.
• Finally, it is interesting to see the different evaluations of the individual countries, for example the differences between Europe and the USA; the results for Russia are astounding too.

During this first phase (the study has been ongoing for a about a year now) the entire population in the USA, England, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Poland, Russia, Spain and Italy has been surveyed, independently of whether the persons questioned are affiliated with a Christian confession. At the moment, we are in process of evaluating those participants of the survey who define themselves as practicing believers.

The now published interim report thus reflects the situation of the northern hemisphere. The next step, which is already in preparation, will be the extension of the study to countries of the South (beginning with Australia, the Philippines, South Africa and Argentina).

The survey was conducted by the renouned Italian Opinion Studies Institute EURISCO, under the direction of the Professor of Sociology Luca Diotallevi of the University of Roma Tre. The CBF will be producing a detailed evaluation of the data in the coming months of preparation for the Bishops’ Synod on the Word of God in the life and mission of the Church.

For further information see the following articles: zenit.org - Vatican Information Service .

For more information (including a free download of three articles) please click on the table of contents.

One goal of this year’s course was to enable Chinese seminary instructors to study and experience the Bible at the biblical locations themselves. A second objective was to experience the diversity of the Christian denominations that have developed out of the beginnings of the Mother Church in the Holy Land, and the related experience of their own Chinese Church as a branch on this tree of the multifaceted world church. The interreligious dimension, underscored by the daily reality of the coexistence of the Abrahamic religions in the Holy Land, also played a major role. And finally, learning something about the current religious, political and economic situation of people in Palestine and Israel was another important objective of the course.

The conveying of these objectives took place through a combination of classes, seminars and individual lectures, workshops and excursions, as well as through numerous personal encounters. As for instructors, it was possible to acquire specialists in individual areas who were able in part to give classes directly in Chinese.

Information on the congress, main papers and pictures can be found on the official website of the congress: www.deiverbum2005.org.