In some parts of world, Catholics don't have easy access to Bible

Published: 2005-09-16

ROME (CNS) -- Forty years ago, through "Dei Verbum," a document on Scripture and divine revelation, the Second Vatican Council strove to emphasize the important role of Scriptures in the life of the church and put the Bible back in the hands of the faithful. While many experts at an international congress in Rome agreed that great strides had been made, they said there were still parts of the world, especially developing countries, that do not have wide or easy access to the Bible. At the Sept. 14-18 congress sponsored by the Catholic Biblical Federation and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, some biblical experts laid part of the blame on lingering poverty and some pastors' reluctance to promote the use of the Bible. Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja, Nigeria, said, "In many places the cost of the Bible is beyond the reach of the average Catholic." In general this is because "the so-called 'Catholic Bibles' are imported from abroad and are much more expensive than the highly subsidized Protestant Bibles," he said in his Sept. 15 address.

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