From the fifth to the 26th of October, representative bishops from around the world will meet in Rome for the 12th Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the body proposed by the Second Vatican Council for ongoing discussion of challenges facing the church. This years topic will address a yet uncompleted reform of the council: to make the Scriptures truly, "the churchs book," known, prayed and studied by the whole church.

The formal topic of the meeting is "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church." In this issue, America has asked six well-known church leaders and scholars to write about aspects of making the Bible central to Catholic life.

We hope this special issue will whet the appetite of readers for the work of the synod and encourage them to explore still other dimensions of the theme, including the Word of God in culture and history, as well as in the faith of other Christian believers.

"Nourished and Ruled by Sacred Scripture," Richard J. Sklba

"The Original Testament," Richard J. Clifford

"A Hymn With Many Voices," John R. Donahue

"Sowing the Word," Pheme Perkins

"Ever Ancient, Ever New," John B. Klassen

"From Council to Synod," Ronald D. Witherup

Drew Christiansen, S.J., previews the synod on our weekly podcast.