LONDON, Canada, April 15, 2003 — For Father Murray Watson, it is a "dream come true". The 33-year-old parish priest and seminary teacher (of Biblical courses) from London, Ontario used the phrase to describe his feelings about his recent election as President of the Catholic Biblical Association of Canada (CBAC).
"For me, Biblical studies is a real passion, and anything that I can do to further that and encourage that, is what my ministry has been," he said during a recent interview. "So the fact of being able to work with such a nationally recognized organization on behalf of the Catholic Church was ... something I'd hoped (for) when I was maybe 50 or 55."
Sister Jocelyn Monette, Executive Director of the CBAC said the priest was a natural choice for the position. "We were delighted when Father Murray agreed to let his name stand for election as President of our Association," she said.
"Father Murray is young; brimming with ideas and energy. He has completed advanced Biblical studies in Rome and Jerusalem. He has grassroots experience in a pastoral setting and is keen to pursue ecumenical and interfaith dialogue. We feel blessed to have him, and look forward to what God will do through Father Murray's leadership over the next two years," she added.
The priest says he will be a cheerleader for the Bible
Watson said his role at the CBAC will be to act as the public spokesperson for the Church's Biblical apostolate, to represent the Roman Catholic Church in terms of their Biblical work and to be the "cheerleader" for Biblical studies within the Church in Canada.
"(The Bible) has always been part of our heritage as Catholics, but a lot of Catholics have been content, just with the Scriptures that they get on Sunday at church," he explained. "A lot of them are still very hesitant about the Bible; are still afraid that they don't have the knowledge or the background to read the Bible on their own. It intimidates a lot of Catholics," he added.
"So my role, as I see it, is to really foster a love and familiarity with the Scriptures - to try and break down some of those walls of fear and worry that people have when they come to the Bible, so that they can really dig into the Scriptures for themselves."
Watson has held a love for the Bible he says is 'life long'
Watson's love of the Scriptures began in childhood. Raised in a Presbyterian church, he says he saw many wonderful examples of people with deep faith, and had many excellent Sunday School teachers. But he felt drawn to Catholicism as a young adolescent, and converted to the Church at 16. Still, he says, his mainline protestant up bringing was an important part of where his love for the Bible originated.
"From the time I was a young boy, I grew up with stories of the Bible," he remembered. "I grew up learning Bible verses in Sunday School and went to Vacation Bible School every summer.
"One of the first books that I remember receiving was a children's Bible that I still have. As a child, (I had) a fascination with the stories in the Bible, and some of my great heroes were Biblical figures. Then as time went on, there were a lot of questions that I had. I wanted to probe more and read more. So it's really been a lifetime love for me," the priest said.
Watson and the CBAC have their work cut out for them; many Catholics don't read the Bible
More than just possessing a deep love for the Bible, Watson is also well qualified for his new position. Ordained a priest in 1996, he did post-graduate biblical and archaeological studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome (for three-and-a-half years) and for a period of six months at the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem.
He believes his election for a two-year term at the CBAC is not by accident. "I'm very convinced that all of this is providential. And I'm very conscious that I've been given a gift that I'm supposed to share," he said.
Watson admitted such sharing will keep him busy. There are many within the Roman Catholic community who don't read the Bible.
"For a long time, a lot of Catholics were convinced that the Bible was something so lofty and so powerful that they themselves weren't worthy of it. It's an exaggeration. It's an exaggerated love and an exaggerated respect," he remarked.
Watson says the papacy has long encouraged Biblical study
But at the highest levels of Church government, the teaching has been to encourage Biblical study, Watson said. "Going back to 1893, the first major, modern papal document came out under Pope Leo XIII. And he put out this long letter in which he spent pages and pages saying to Bishops and Priests, 'Catholics should read the Scriptures.'
"In 1943, Pope Pius XII issued a magnificent document on the study of sacred Scripture, which just gushed about the importance of Scripture study at every level.
"In the 1960s, at the Second Vatican Council, one of the major documents that came out of that was called, 'On the Word of God,' and it speaks beautifully about the importance of Scripture as the foundation of the church," Watson explained.
Watson wants to see ecumenical and interfaith Bible studies
The young priest is clearly a man of knowledge, passion for his subject and fresh ideas. He hopes to capitalize on the increasing popularity of the Internet and take advantage of the convenient technology it offers to improve communication with parishes and lay people across the country.
He'd also like to establish ecumenical and inter-faith Bible studies. Saying that Christians of many different denominations can learn a great deal from one another through sharing the riches of our traditions, Watson added that the Bible, "is the one place, with the exception of some minor points, that is the foundation for everything that we (Catholics and Protestants alike) share.
He'd also like to see relationships built between Catholic parishes and local synagogues.
"A lot of my work has been in the Jewish reading of the Bible," he explained. "The Dead Sea Scrolls. The Talmud. The Midrash. There's an amazing richness there, which most Christians aren't even aware of. The Jews have been reading the Scriptures for 4,000 years, and they have some amazing, amazing insights. And nobody knows Hebrew like they do. So I'd like to really encourage, where there are synagogues close to Catholic parishes, for us to pair up and study the Prophets or Genesis or Exodus or the Psalms together."
Watson: a man of energy. It's a good thing. He's going to need it.
It's easy to hear the enthusiasm in his voice as Father Murray Watson confesses to being "very excited" about his new role. The Bible, he says, "gives me a lot of energy and a lot of joy."
He's going to need that enthusiasm. His term as President of the CBAC promises to be very busy, as he shares with his fellow Canadian Catholics why he believes Bible study is important: "If for nothing else, because it's the Word of God," he said.
"Because it's the Word of God, it doesn't just invite reading. It demands reading from a Christian.".
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