What is the Divino Afflante Spiritu?

Answer 1

Divino Afflante Spiritu is the Papal Encyclical issued on 30 September 1943 by Pope Pius XII. The encyclical is meant to encourage and give guidance to biblical scholars in their scientific study of The Bible. The encyclical takes its title from the first three Latin words of the document; it was published on the 50th anniversary of the encyclical Providentissimus Deusby Leo XIII in 1893, known as the Magna Carta of Biblical Studies. Both encyclicals were commemorated by Pope John Paul II in April 1993. John Paul observed that while both encyclicals centered on issues of their respective eras, both documents maintained a validity for continuing studies and translations of Sacred Scripture.

Divino Afflante Spiritu recognized the more open and flexible arrangement that existed in the discipline of Biblical Studies, especially when compared against the era of Leo XIII. Notwithstanding, Pius was aware of the dangers of abuse and speculation without proper analysis and the need for clear direction from the Church for scholars engaged in biblical scholarship. The encyclical sanctions the careful study of Near Eastern languages to promote proficiency in the language originally used in the writing of the Scriptures. This process of study would thereby promote and permit the scientific application of textual criticism, which would lead to the determination of those extant manuscripts that are the closest to the first or earliest writings that have not survived the passage of time. Additionally, Pius warned against the excessive use of scientific examination to the detriment of doctrine. The caution is that scholars should not arbitrarily apply their preliminary findings to the questioning or even rejection of essential elements of Church teaching. Rather, studies should be thorough, painstaking, corroborated, and weighed against not just one specific aspect of Sacred Scripture but the entire bod of sacred writings as well as sacred tradition.