ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PLENARY ASSEMBLY
OF THE PONTIFICAL BIBLICAL COMMISSION

Tuesday, 20 April 2004

Your Eminence,
Dear Members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission,

1. I am pleased to receive you once again on the occasion of your annual Plenary Assembly. I would like to address a special greeting to the President, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, whom I thank for his interesting presentation of your work.

2. You are meeting once again to examine a very important subject: the connection between the Bible and morality. This topic concerns not only believers but, in a certain sense, every person of good will. Indeed, God speaks through the Bible, revealing himself and pointing out a solid basis and sure orientation for human behaviour. Knowing God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; recognizing his infinite goodness; knowing gratefully and sincerely that "every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights" (Jas 1: 17); discovering in the gifts that God has given us the tasks he has entrusted to us; and acting with a full awareness of our responsibility to him: these are some of the fundamental expressions of biblical morality.

3. The Bible presents to us the inexhaustible treasures of God's revelation and of his love for humanity. The task of your joint commitment is to facilitate the Christian people's access to these treasures.

As I wish you a fruitful continuation of your studies, I invoke upon you and your work the light of the Holy Spirit, and I impart my affectionate Blessing to you all.