Mark 16:9-20 — "The Longer Ending"

The Catholic Church's position on Mark 16:9-20 (the 'Longer Ending') is nuanced: the passage is included in the Catholic Bible (Vulgate and modern Catholic translations) but is acknowledged by Catholic biblical scholarship as not part of Mark's original text. The United Bible Societies Greek New Testament (used in Catholic scholarship) places Mark 16:9-20 in brackets, and many Catholic Bibles include a textual note indicating that the earliest manuscripts lack this passage. Despite its non-original status, the passage is retained in the Catholic canon and is used liturgically, though its authority is recognized as limited.

Catholic tradition, influenced by patristic discussions of the longer and shorter endings, has maintained the passage as part of Scripture while acknowledging its disputed provenance. The Catechism of the Catholic Church does not reference this passage for doctrinal development, and modern Catholic exegetes treat it as a second-century expansion by the early Church. The Church's position reflects both respect for textual tradition and scholarly acknowledgment of textual criticism.