Pope Leo: Young People Need Easy Access to Sacred Scripture

Vatican, Nov 17, 2025: During an audience with the Catholic Biblical Federation, Pope Leo urged biblical scholars and pastoral ministers to ensure that the Word of God remains easily accessible to everyone, especially within digital platforms, so that younger generations can encounter Christ.

He reflected on the 60th anniversary of _Dei Verbum_ , the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, recalling the Second Vatican Council’s appeal for Sacred Scripture to be widely available and honoured across the world.

The Pope said the document expresses “a strong desire, a firm conviction, and a pastoral approach”.

“The teaching of _Dei Verbum_ is unequivocal,” he said. “We are called ‘to hear the Word of God with reverence and to proclaim it with faith,’ and ‘easy access to Sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful’.”

He noted that the Catholic Biblical Federation shares this mission as it works to embed the Word of God in pastoral ministry and present it as a source of dynamic inspiration for the Church.

Pope Leo encouraged the biblical scholars gathered in Rome to renew their commitment to their mandate, which he described as “nothing less than the proclamation of the kerygma, the saving mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

He added that the Church continually draws life from the Gospel by listening to Christ with attentive love.

“From the Gospel, she continually rediscovers the direction for her journey, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who teaches all things and reminds us of everything the Son has said.”

Pope Leo XIV then considered what “easy access” to Sacred Scripture means today.

He observed that the faithful need encouragement to read the Bible so they can personally encounter God’s love expressed in human language.

“Today, new generations inhabit new digital environments where the Word of God is easily overshadowed,” he said. “New communities often find themselves in cultural spaces where the Gospel is unfamiliar or distorted by particular interests.”

The Pope invited members of the Catholic Biblical Federation to reflect on how the Church can best support people who have never encountered the Word of God in gaining access to it.

“I hope these questions inspire in you new forms of biblical outreach, capable of opening pathways to the Scriptures, so that God’s Word may take root in people’s hearts and lead all to live in His grace,” he said.

In conclusion, Pope Leo called on all Christians to become “‘living letters… written not in ink but by the Spirit of the living God,’ bearing witness to the primacy of God’s Word over the many voices that fill our world.”

“May the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God and the womb through which the Word became flesh,” he said, “teach us the art of listening, strengthen us in obedience to His Word, and guide us to magnify the Lord.”

Courtesy: Vatican News