First published in 1953, this fine one-volume commentary retains in its new edition only one-
fifth of the material from the earlier version. The impact of the Second Vatican Council and
the ecumenical movement are apparent nearly everywhere throughout the more than 1200
pages of double column text. It is wholly fitting that the first article on" The Bible in the
Church" should have been written by the late Cardinal Bea, who more than any other single
person was responsible for the theological and methodological renewal that has radically …

According to the editors, not more than one-fifth of its predecessor, A Catholic Commentary
on Holy Scripture (abbr. CCHS), 1953, has been retained in this completely revised edition.
Correspondingly, only about half of the original contributors are listed, and the total list has
increased from 43 to 64, most of whom are from the Commonwealth. The new preface of
NCCHS states that a fresh direction has been taken. In contrast to the earlier avowed
acknowledgement of the gulf between ecclesiastically conditioned exegesis and some of …

This work originated in England but is not limited to English scholars. Ten American and a
number of continental exegetes are among its 64 contributors. In addition to articles on the
individual books, it contains 13 general and 22 special introductory studies. The lead
article," The Bible in the Life of the Church," by the late Cardinal A. Bea, is an unfortunate
opening, because it is little more than a scholastic commentary on Vatican II's Decree on
Revelation. Almost half of it treats of the Apostles and their successors as guardians of …

It is a commonplace to state that our generation has witnessed a phe-nomenal resurgence
of interest in the Bible on the part of Roman Catholics. Some people think this renaissance
began with the Second Vatican Coun-cil, but it is not so. To be sure the Bible was given a
tremendous impetus by the Council, but the Magna Charta of modern biblical studies is the
monu-mental encyclical of Pius XII, Divino Afflante Spiritu. This liberating manifesto
appeared in 1943, and since that time Roman Catholic scholars have been busy …