Latin America will have its own Bible.
A translation of the Sacred Scriptures into Spanish that will contain the phrases and terms used by the peoples of the American continent.
The project, which has involved the work of more than twenty-five exegetes, has the blessing of Pope Benedict XVI and will also make the sacred text accessible to thousands of Catholics across the United States.
The story began seven years ago, when the U.S. bishops consulted the Episcopal Conference of Latin America (CELAM), in search of a Bible that could be distributed among the Hispanic communities in the United States. The result was an alliance between the churches on the continent, to create a tradition of the Scriptures adapted to all Spanish speaking countries.
With one difference: for the first time, the copyrights of this new text will belong to the Episcopal Conferences of the nations involved: nineteen in all. In this way, an attempt is being made to abolish the “monopoly on the Bible,” which until now has always been in the hands of large publishing houses.
In an interview with Vatican Insider, the Auxiliary Bishop of Valparaíso (Chile) and Executive Secretary of CELAM, Santiago Silva Retamales, explained the significance of this initiative, which he himself will oversee.
How was the project of the Latin American Bible born?
This project was born thanks to the initiative of U.S. bishops who needed a Bible in Spanish for the Hispanics in their country; they thus turned to the Latin American Episcopal Conference to establish an alliance. CELAM requested that the project be extended to the whole American continent and not just be confined to North America.
We thus started to work with a group of four Biblicists: we accepted the assignment and began to request translation services from twenty-two experts based in Latin America. The work began seven years ago, and followed a ten-year plan. There are three years of work left.
Everyone is asking, why a new Bible? The last Bible translated for Latin America was published fifteen years ago. Since then, there has been a development in biblical research, which we have sought to emphasize in the translation. On the other hand, language is constantly changing: for this reason we wanted to make the texts “more contemporary,” so that people might understand the biblical message more easily.
The “owners” of this Bible will be the Episcopal Conferences of the countries of the continent and no longer the publishing houses; they will have the rights, which will have important pastoral consequences: if bishops want to distribute the Bibles in their communities at very low prices, they will have an incentive to print them. This will help the simpler members God’s flock, those with fewer resources, to gain access to the Sacred Scriptures.
Will it include only the four Gospels, or the whole Bible?
The translation will include the whole Bible: both the Old and the New Testaments. For now we have only published the four Gospels because we are hoping for suggestions. The text is being distributed in theology faculties and among exegetes, pastoral workers and catechists, so that they read can it and send us their comments.
What difference will the faithful notice in this new Bible in comparison to previous editions?
Above all, the language; it will be easier to understand. Too often, people are forced to read the notes all the time to try to understand the text. However, a translation needs to be something simple, something that people can understand; this is the first thing: a language that is simple and accessible. The reader will also find some suggestions in the notes on how to pray using the text and how to put its messages into practice, in life and in society.
What are the main challenges that have emerged during the translation of the text?
The most difficult thing is not the theoretical language: salvation and grace are concepts that all Catholics understand. The most difficult thing is the concrete language, for instance, the use of some words that have different meanings for different countries. In some texts, the words will be understood by most people, with some exceptions.
What results do you hope to achieve with this project?
We hope that it will have a very positive effect: for the moment it involves a project that has the approval of all the Spanish-speaking bishops’ conferences in the region, about twenty. The bishops have shown they want a Bible that is able to bring forward this great pastoral task of evangelization, in the best possible.