Ninth Plenary Assembly of the International Catholic Biblical Federation - Nemi, Italy

I was happy to be a participant Ninth Plenary Assembly of the International Catholic Biblical Federation (CBF) at the Ad Gentes Centre ( run by the Society of the Divine Word) in Nemi (Italy), from June 18 to 23, 2015.

The Plenary Assembly is the supreme governing body of the Federation.  This was a meeting of delegates chosen to represent its full and associate members. It normally meets every six years, and deals with administrative matters as well as deepening a specific topic.

The topic this time was: Scripture: Source of evangelization "That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you" (1 Jn 1,3)

This passage of the First Letter of St. John provided the framework for the reflection on Scripture as a Source of Evangelization, as we marked the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation,  Dei Verbum.

We were 136 delegates at this CBF Assembly, representing our respective institutions: women and men, (lay  and religious, priests and bishops)  from the five continents with  Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, archbishop of Manila (Philippines),  the current president of CBF   .  The plurality of participants added a colourful hue and a wealth of life and experience that drew us to celebrate our unity in diversity.

The report presented by each region helped  us to know the work that is done in the  service of the Word of God in different parts of the world,  and the painful realities (war, censorship, bans ...) being experienced in some countries.

Outstanding among the memorable events was the opportunity we had to see and hear Pope Francis, who welcomed us in the morning of  Friday, June 19th, to an audience in the Consistory Hall.

This meeting, conducted in friendly, informal atmosphere,  has been  significant  in the effort to ensure that  Bible remains  a source of life and evangelization. 

I am extremely grateful that I could participate in this Assembly, as the representative of the Conference of  Women and Men Religious in Argentina (CONFAR). Sister.  Zulema Frank, Community of Buenos. Aires., Argentina