Burma's Bibles: encouraging love of Scripture among the laity

Yangon, Burma, Jan 29, 2015 / 18:50 pm

The Church in Burma is engaged in a series of biblical seminars to aid in catechesis and in drawing the laity to read and appreciate Sacred Scripture, heeding the call of the Second Vatican Council.

"Our vision is that Catholic faithful become the disciples of Christ who love, read, live, and share the living Word of God," Fr. Bosco Saw, national coordinator for Biblical Pastoral Ministry told CNA Jan. 26. "It is part of my mission and it is growing."

Fr. Saw cited the need for biblical-based means of teaching catechism, desired by religious congregations in the country. The seminars are meant to teach methods of sharing the Bible.

"We are pursuing our mission to lead and to empower the Catholic faithful to live out and proclaim the living Word of God."

During a five-day workshop for the theological students of the Catholic Religious Conference attended by more than 40 religious brothers and sisters and held last November, Fr. Saw said "we deliberated on how to teach catechism using Bible stories."

In Burma, he said, "the predominant mindset of the people is that Bible reading is meant only for priests and religious … so we use Bible seminars to educate and to help them to start appreciating, to love, to read, and to live the Bible."

Around 20 Bible seminars have been held in Burma in the past year, with various events aimed sometimes at formators, or religious, or teachers, or the laity. In addition, each diocese in the country has organized local workshops in parishes.