Catholic Institute of Sydney lecturer Fr Luca Infantino has become the fifth Australian to earn a doctorate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, known as the Biblicum. Source: The Catholic Weekly.
Fr Infantino said his study was on the use of the word “adoption” in St Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, which he says is “generally a little bit disregarded”.
“My question was a more specific on [adoption], so this term appears only five times in the letters,” he said.
He said most research on the topic of adoption in the Bible pertains to St Paul’s letters to the Romans or the Galatians and not Ephesians, in parts due to doubts about authorship.
“But the other main issue is that while the other appearances of the term are in a context of building an argument, in this case, it’s a context of a prayer.”
He expressed his gratitude to the Sydney Archdiocese for supporting him during this academic endeavour, which is the culmination of nine years of in-depth research.
“I’ve been away from diocese for a long time to do this and it’s been a big investment on the part of the diocese, and I’m very grateful for them as well,” he said.
Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP was present in Rome to witness Fr Infantino defend his thesis and congratulate the priest on his achievement.
“The Sacrae Scripturae Doctor degree from the Biblicum is said to be the hardest of all pontifical degrees to attain – if your experience is anything to go by, it is certainly the longest,” the archbishop said.
“That your examiners described your work as ‘a wonderful thesis that must be published’ and ‘well-reasoned, well-articulated, well balanced’ is a great tribute to you.”
He said Brisbane Archbishop Mark Coleridge, the last Australian to earn this doctorate before Fr Infantino, also passed on his congratulations, saying they are now part of a “very exclusive club.”
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Fr Luca Infantino becomes Australia’s fifth Sacred Scripture doctor (By Tara Kennedy, The Catholic Weekly)
