Catholicism and Scripture
It is very common in Ecumenical dialogues to hear Protestants affirm Sola Scriptura as a way to differentiate themselves from Catholicism. It is one of the five “Solas” and a very important doctrine for the devout Protestant. But understanding what the Catholic Church actually teaches about Sacred Scripture helps bridge the gap between Protestant and Catholic camps and opens the door to further ecumenical dialogue toward greater unity.
Here is a brief but not exhaustive list of what Catholics actually affirm regarding scripture. In my mind, most of my protestant friends can agree with much of this. Let me know if you agree in the comments below
All of scripture is inspired by the Holy Spirit. *Dei Verbum 11
The books of Scripture teach solidly and faithfully what God intended to be written in scripture for salvation. *Dei Verbum 11
Catholicism encourages interpretation, but exhorts that Scripture must be interpreted properly. *Dei Verbum
Catholics affirm that Scripture is the supreme rule of faith. * Dei Verbum 21Catholics affirm that preaching must be regulated by scripture. *Dei Verbum 21
The Catholic Church desires easy access to scripture for everyone *Dei Verbum 22
So far so good.
But…. here is where a rift occurs
7) There is a close connection between Scripture and Tradition and both flow from the Divine Wellspring.
“Hence there exists a close connection and communication between sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end. For Sacred Scripture is the word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, while sacred tradition takes the word of God entrusted by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, and hands it on to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known. “ *Dei Verbum 9
8.) Catholics see Scripture and Tradition as one Divine deposit of faith. *Dei Verbum 10
Protestants reject the Sacred Tradition aspect of this deposit, but I assert many don’t act that way. In theory they protest, but in practical application they affirm some type of tradition. They don’t call it infallible, but they act as if their doctrines are.
Let’s pull out these inspiring words and look at them closely
“and hands it on to their successors in its full purity, so that led by the light of the Spirit of truth, they may in proclaiming it preserve this word of God faithfully, explain it, and make it more widely known. “ Dei Verbum
In many ways this is what our protestant brothers and sisters desire too right?
to receive the word of God in its full purity
to be led by the light of the Spirit
to proclaim it faithfully
and preserve it faithfully
explain it
make it more widely known
We share the same heart, the same desire and the same goal. This unity of intent and desire is from the Spirit and a sign of the Spirit’s work in the believer. So while as Catholics we assert that the Catholic Church is the infallible interpreter of God’s word, the Protestant, if he has bold integrity, must admit that he too is an interpreter and holds on to his interpretation as if it were infallible and thus reflecting that this is in fact God’s desire for the human soul. God desires for us not only to have access to God’s word, but to know for certain what it teaches and be able to say. Amen, I believe.
*All references quoted from Dei Verbum
Objections to Sola Scriptura
Scripture is never Sola and Sola is not a teaching we find in Scripture