The Church in Pakistan has launched a drive to deepen the faith of the people – in defiance of increasing Islamic extremism and growing concerns that the country is on the verge of collapse.
Coinciding with the Year of St. Paul, which started in June as declared by Pope Benedict XVI, Catholics across Pakistan are being invited to take part in classes on the Bible and ancient Scriptural languages. The program comes just months after Church leaders, including Pakistan Catholic bishops’ conference president Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha, told the Pope in their five-yearly Ad Limina meeting that intolerance towards Christians in the majority Muslim country was at an all-time high.
Discussing the Bible Year initiative in an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), organizer Fr. Emanuel Asi explained that he had high hopes for the plan’s success in spite of the growing problems for Christians in Pakistan. Stressing the ecumenical nature of the initiative, Fr. Asi said, “We are quite joyful about it – the Word of God unites and the Word of God sanctifies.”
The Bible Year initiative coincides with a synod of bishops taking place in Rome this October examining the ‘Word of God in the life and mission of the Church.’
Scheduled as part of Bible Year are simple courses in Biblical languages including Greek, Hebrew, and Latin. In addition, most major cities in Pakistan will be hosting on-going Bible studies.
Key texts for the Bible Year scheme include the latest edition of the Bible in Urdu, Pakistan’s national language. Thanks to a large subsidy, the price of the book for Pakistani Christians has been slashed from 600 rupees to 95 rupees. Another text is the ‘Heroes of Faith’ series — a set of comics looking at significant Biblical personalities. Fr. Asi explained that young people had been dramatizing the literature by putting on re-enactments of Scripture stories. For elderly and adult-literacy learners, there is a large-size font New Testament.
‘Heroes of Faith’ and the new Urdu Bible are among the many Scriptural texts which have received key support from ACN as well as the charity’s Child’s Bible, which is also playing a important role in the plan.
Fr. Asi described how he was initially apprehensive as to how ‘Heroes of Faith’ would be received in a Muslim country. He said that not only have there been no problems, but that it has been a great success with Christian children. The priest said he hoped the interest generated by the Bible Year program will continue long after it comes to an end.
