Adrian Graffy is a Scripture scholar and parish priest in the parish of Gidea Park, Essex, England. He received his doctorate at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome and taught for over twenty years at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh. He is director of the Scripture Working Group at the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, delegate to the Catholic Biblical Federation and a member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.
On Saturday 9th March 2013 a large number of people came to Brentwood Cathedral to hear Fr Adrian speak about ‘Vatican II and the Bible’, a study day in the series designed to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Council.
Fr Adrian told the fascinating story of the Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, known as Dei Verbum. Interweaving anecdotes of life in Rome in the post-conciliar period with his extensive biblical expertise Fr Adrian described the sometimes tortuous journey towards the completion and approval of the document on 18th November 1965. Fr Adrian described the council as ‘a Council for an adult Church’ and his presentation of the story of Dei Verbum invites us again to be thankful for the gift of the Holy Spirit in the teachings of Vatican II.