Despite the differing interpretations of the Scriptures which have driven Christians away in the history of the Church, "The Bible has always been a shared heritage. Nothing brings the Churches and the Christian communities together like the Bible". It is "truly" the "foundation of ecumenical dialogue". It was said this morning at a press conference by card. Walter Kasper, president of the Papal Council for the Promotion of the Unity of Christians, as he took part in the signing of the agreement between the Catholic Biblical Federation and the United Bible Societies. The cardinal did not hide the ecumenical difficulties that concern the common interpretation of the Bible. "On its interpretation he said we divided". There have been "unilateral developments, limits and problems and misuses of the historical and critical methods". Sometimes, these methods "have separated us". "In so doing, we forgot that the Bible is a book born within the Church and for the Church". "We have to find agreement on the Bible". In this respect, Kasper pointed out that "ecumenical dialogue is not a diplomatic negotiation that aims at any compromise but it means reading and listening together to what God wants to tell us through the Holy Scriptures". (continued)
