Church in Pakistan Launches New Edition of Bible

October 25, 2011: The Catholic Church in Pakistan introduced new Bibles during a series of launches held at the same time across the country October 23. All seven bishops and thousands of priests unveiled the tenth edition of the Catholic Bible on World Mission Sunday.
“It is now available in four separate designs and sizes for the first time in the country’s history,” said Father Emmanuel Asi executive secretary of the Catholic Bible Commission Pakistan (CBCP). Bishop Sebastian Shah of Lahore and three priests concelebrated a special Mass at the Sacred Heart Cathedral.
Hundreds of Catholics later filed past the altar and vowed to recite the good book every day. “You can finish reading the whole Bible in three years just by devoting five to seven minutes every day,” Fr Asi said. The commission published 70,000 copies this year, compared to 50,000 for the last edition in 2007.
The Pakistan Bible Society, a Protestant publication house, helped in organizing the import of the Bibles from China. The project cost about 350,000,000 rupees (US$ 403,179). “Finance was the biggest challenge. The funds were collected over two years with the help of German donors and a Korean bishop,” Fr Asi said.
The CBCP is currently registering 100,000 “friends” as well as several speakers for a one week non-stop Bible Marathon in Mariamabad - where the national Marian shrine is located - in Punjab province next year in a bid to promote Bible reading.