Pontifical Encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) and Principle of Interpretation Bible

Divino Afflante Spiritu (Inspired by the Divine Spirit) is an encyclical letter issued by Pope Pius XII on September 30, 1943. It inaugurated the modern period of Roman Catholic Bible studies by permitting the limited use of modern methods of biblical criticism. The Catholic bible scholar Raymond E. Brown described it as a 'Magna Carta for biblical progress'. The first purpose of the encyclical was to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the issuing of Providentissimus Deus by Pope Leo XIII in 1893, which had condemned the use of higher criticism. In the encyclical, Pius XII noted that since then, advances had been made in archeology and historical research, making it advisable to further define the study of the Bible. In his encyclical the Pope stressed the importance of diligent study of these original languages and other cognate languages, so as to arrive at a deeper and fuller knowledge of the meaning of the sacred texts. Catholic translations of the Bible have been based directly on the texts found in manuscripts in the original languages, taking into account also the ancient translations that sometimes clarify what seem to be transcription errors in those manuscripts, although the Latin Vulgate remains the official Bible in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. The Holy Scripture as a source of revelation was getting more often towards the believers at the beginning of last century. Interest in individual aspects of biblical text meant many difficulties for the Church. On the other end it brought great interest in Bible. Also new movements in Church and Magisterium explications helped it. Convocation of Second Vatican council vouched Catholics interest in positive changes in various Church ranges. It led to ratification the constitutions, edicts and declarations.