Interesting story on the nova research centre website about the reading habits of Italians, which came out of a survey done by Eurisko for the Catholic Biblical Federation and raises a number of missiological issues. See, for example, this quote:
despite the fact that the 40 years following Vatican II have seen a steady increase in the number of homes possessing a Bible and the onset of the Internet age and multimedia communication, for many Italians the Bible remains a closed, mysterious book.
nova also mentions the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which was held in October 2008 with the theme, “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church”. Here is a link to a particularly relevant part of the report on the Vatican’s website.
nova is based at Redcliffe and researches mission in Europe in order to innovate mission in Europe. It’s a fantastic resource doing excellent work. If you’ve any interest in thinking about or doing mission in a European context have a look at the nova website.
Centre for the Study of Bible & Mission 