Bangladesh’s only Catholic weekly marks 75th anniversary

The Catholic Church in Bangladesh marked a milestone with the 75th anniversary of the country’s only Catholic weekly ‘Pratibeshi’.

Some 700 faithful, 2 bishops and 40 priests took part in celebrations last Friday in the diocese of Mymensingh. Pratibeshi was founded in 1940 and went online in 2013.

"I thank all the writers, who are the paper’s benefactors,” said the paper’s editor Fr Joyanto S. Gomes. “You wrote for the newspaper for free, and we are grateful."

The paper prints about 8,000 copies for each Sunday and is available in each of the country’s 98 parishes. It is also sent to government offices as well as to some 30 countries where Bangladeshi citizens live.

Its purpose is to spread the good news of Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Church.  It also seeks to stimulate, develop and awaken people’s spiritual, civil, social and economic conscience by presenting everyday experiences as well as encourage Church staff to use new forms of communication.

A member of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, the weekly reprints statements by bishops and the translated speeches of Pope Francis. The faithful can pick it up after Sunday mass and each week many of them eagerly wait for the next issue. (AsiaNews)