Pope, in audience on Vatican II, reflects on relationship between Sacred Scripture, Tradition
January 28, 2026
Continuing his series of Wednesday general audiences on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, Pope Leo XIV reflected today on the relationship between Sacred Scripture and Tradition.
The audience (video), which took place in Paul VI Audience Hall, was the fourth in the series and the third devoted to Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (1965).
Referring to two Scripture passages—Christ’s promise that the Holy Spirit will bring his words to mind (Jn 14:25-26; 16:13) and the great commission (Mt. 28:19-20)—Pope Leo said that “in both of these scenes, the intimate connection between the words uttered by Christ and their dissemination throughout the centuries is evident.”
“Ecclesial Tradition branches out throughout history through the Church, which preserves, interprets and embodies the Word of God,” the Pope said. “The Word of God, then, is not fossilized, but rather it is a living and organic reality that develops and grows in Tradition. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, Tradition understands it in the richness of its truth and embodies it in the shifting coordinates of history.”
Citing St. John Henry Newman’s Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine, the Pope said that Newman “affirmed that Christianity, both as a communal experience and as a doctrine, is a dynamic reality, in the manner indicated by Jesus himself in the parables of the seed (cf. Mk 4:26-29): a living reality that develops thanks to an inner vital force.”
The Pope then spoke about the importance of safeguarding the deposit of faith. Quoting Dei Verbum, he said:
“Sacred tradition and Sacred Scripture form one sacred deposit of the word of God, committed to the Church”, interpreted by the “living teaching office of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ” (no. 10). “Deposit” is a term that, in its original meaning, is juridical in nature and imposes on the depositary the duty to preserve the content, which in this case is the faith, and to transmit it intact. The “deposit” of the Word of God is still in the hands of the Church today, and all of us, in our various ecclesial ministries, must continue to preserve it in its integrity, as a lodestar for our journey through the complexity of history and existence.
The Pontiff concluded:
Dear friends, let us listen once more to Dei Verbum, which exalts the interweaving of Sacred Scripture and Tradition: it affirms that they “are so linked and joined together that they cannot stand independently, and together, each in their own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they contribute effectively to the salvation of souls” (cf. no. 10).
Audiences in series “Vatican Council II through its Documents”
- Introductory catechesis (1/7/26)
On Dei Verbum, the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (1965):
- God speaks to men as to friends (1/14/26)
- Jesus Christ reveals the Father (1/21/26)
- A single sacred deposit: The relationship between Scripture and Tradition (1/28/26)
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