Bangladesh Catholic Church launches its first online weekly

1st Nov.2013:The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh has recently opened its first online paper. Launched on 27 October in cooperation with the Christian Communication Centre, the website is named Pratibeshi (Neighbours), after the oldest Bengali language Catholic weekly. Founded in 1940, the paper is currently distributed in 30 countries. For Pratibeshi editor Fr Joyanto Gomes, the online edition "allows many users to read our news even on the internet." In fact, "As the world changes, we must upgrade," he explained. Hence, "We are going down this path to have a direct contact with our readers." The magazine's new version will publish news about the Catholic Church and also foreign news,as well as articles on cultural topics important for the Church of Bangladesh.
Pratibeshi's main goal is threefold: to present and promote Christ's message and the Church's teachings through the new media; stimulate, develop and raise spiritual, social, civil and economic awareness by telling ordinary people's everyday experiences; and push Church personnel to use the new forms of communication.
The weekly is a member of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication. The online site has already received its first feedback.