‘Word of God is way to peace’

The way to peace is through the Word of God.

This was the message of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) as National Bible Week began yesterday with a pilgrimage and Bible parade in Antipolo City, Rizal.

CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said "the way to peace is through the splendor of truth, which can only be achieved through Jesus Christ and the Word of God."

Lagdameo led the pilgrimage of hundreds of Catholic faithful to the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo early yesterday morning for celebration, together with members of the Philippine Bible Society and local government units.

In his keynote address on the topic "God’s Word: Splendor of Truth and the Path to Peace," Lagdameo said there is hope for Filipinos who are faced with many challenges, including widespread poverty and political conflicts.

"There is no reason to despair for our country. There are many more good people - in fact majority of the people are good - who follow the Word of God. Be not a death-bringer, but a life-giver," he said.

Antipolo City Bishop Gabriel Reyes celebrated the main Mass and also delivered his own message on the topic "Power for National Renewal." Bishop Arturo Bastes, chairman of CBCP Episcopal Commission for the Biblical Apostolate, delivered the opening remarks.

During the event, the Basic Ecclesiastic Community’s Filipino version of the Bible was launched by PBS secretary-general Nora Lucero.

The PBS said the week-long event aims to revive Catholic Filipinos’ habit of reading the Bible daily. PBS president Bishop Efraim Tendero said PBS has been working to make the Bible available to many people.

Tendero said they have also been focusing on the distribution of free Bibles among the poor by forging a partnership with the Gawad Kalinga foundation and providing a free Bible for every house built by the charitable institution.

Last year, the PBS distributed over 735,000 copies of the Bible. Tendero said they are targeting a million copies of the Bible for distribution this year. With its new Bible website, the PBS may just reach that goal.

The ECBA will also launch new versions of the Basic Ecclesiastic Community Bible in Filipino and other Philippine dialects like Bicolano, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano and Panggalatok.

Tendero also said the PBS will distribute complete versions of the Bible in compact disc format as well and on the Internet this year.

The Bible is accessible on the Internet through the website http://www.crosswire.org/sword/software/biblecs/index.jsp, where different versions of the Bible in various languages including Filipino could be downloaded.

Although there are already several existing Bible websites, Tendero said the PBS efforts to publish the Bible and its Filipino translations on the Internet will certainly be as useful as the other versions of the Good Book.