Pope Leo XIV calls for understanding Scripture within its historical and human context to prevent fundamentalist misreadings and inspire living faith.
Newsroom (04/02/2026 Gaudium Press) At his weekly General Audience , Pope Leo XIV offered a compelling reminder that the Word of God must be read through the lens of history and with sensitivity to human language. Warning against “fundamentalist or spiritualist readings” of Scripture, the Pope stressed that a true encounter with the divine requires understanding the Bible both as God’s word and as a human story written in time.
The catechesis formed part of his ongoing reflection on Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation from the Second Vatican Council—an encyclical he has described as “one of the most beautiful and important” of the Council’s documents. Continuing this series, he explored the relationship between divine inspiration and human authorship of the sacred texts, encouraging a balanced approach that avoids extremes.
“God speaks to humanity in human language,” the Pope said, paraphrasing the Council text. The Scriptures, he explained, are “not written in a heavenly tongue,” but in words and forms that reflect their authors’ culture, history, and experience. “To renounce the study of the human words that God used risks leading to fundamentalist or spiritualist readings of Scripture, which betray its meaning,” he affirmed.
Scripture as Word in Human Form
Referencing Dei Verbum and theologians of the past century, Pope Leo XIV revisited the notion of dual authorship. God, he said, is the primary author of Scripture, yet the human writers are “true authors” who contributed their own intellect, style, and imagination under divine inspiration. “To reduce human activity to that of a mere amanuensis is not to glorify divine activity,” he quoted from the biblical scholar Luis Alonso Schökel.
This understanding, he noted, elevates rather than diminishes human freedom and creativity. Just as the Word became flesh in Christ, so too the divine message takes human form in Scripture—an expression of God’s “merciful condescension toward humankind” and His desire for closeness with His people.
Faith and Reality in Dialogue
The Holy Father warned that detaching Scripture from historical context leads to partial or distorted interpretations. Equally dangerous, he cautioned, is reading it purely as a human artifact—reducing it to ancient literature devoid of divine authority. “If the proclamation of the Word loses touch with reality, with human hopes and sufferings,” he said, “it becomes ineffective.”
Calling for a living proclamation that speaks to the people of today, Pope Leo quoted Pope Francis’s Evangelii gaudium: returning to the Gospel’s source “opens new paths of creativity, new forms of expression, and words with meaning for today’s world.”
To interpret Scripture rightly, he said, believers must read it under the same Spirit who inspired it—so that it may “touch the lives of today’s believers” and illuminate their daily decisions. He cited Saint Augustine’s teaching that correct understanding of Scripture must lead to love of God and neighbour, or else it remains incomplete.
Word That Feeds and Transforms
Pope Leo concluded by inviting the faithful to gratitude for the “essential nourishment” of God’s Word. He urged that both speech and life reflect the love revealed in Scripture. Scripture, he reminded listeners, is not a mere social message but the “joyful proclamation of the full and eternal life that God has given us in Jesus.”
Before closing, the Pope called on the faithful to pray for the suffering people of Ukraine, expressing gratitude for solidarity initiatives in neighbouring countries. He also appealed to world leaders to preserve and strengthen the New START nuclear treaty between the United States and Russia, emphasizing the urgent need to replace “the logic of fear and distrust” with mutual trust and a shared pursuit of peace.
Finally, Pope Leo greeted English-speaking pilgrims from Ireland, Denmark, Japan, South Korea, and the United States—including students from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and Junshin Junior and Senior High School. Invoking blessings of “joy and peace” upon all present, he reaffirmed the universality of the Gospel message: a Word made human, meant for every time, people, and heart.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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