The Pastoral Department of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has reprinted the New Catholic Answer Bible,initially published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
According to ECM Pastoral Coordinator Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Chimombo, the Revised Edition has been authorized for production in print through the agreement by and between the USCCB and ECM and was printed and bound by Korean Bible Society (South Korea).
“There has always been a need for something that Catholics, especially young people, who needed an answer question reference material for which they refer to, once they are challenged by members of other religions on all aspects of the Catholic faith.” Fr Chimombo said adding that “I discovered the Question and Answer Bible, when I visited the US two years ago, and my immediate thought was on how I could buy as many copies as I could to bring it home. The cost of buying and shipment proved a challenge but this did not deter my determination. I soon realized that we could explore other options and that was when the idea of a reprint came to my mind.”
Fr Chimombo said that on his return to his country, he presented his discovery to the Bishops who fully supported him, and consultations were made after which they signed a five years contract with USCCB who authorized them to reprint as many copies as they wanted.
“When we got the authorization, we wanted to print the Bible home in Malawi at the Montfort Printing Press; unfortunately, they did not have the right material, that is the special paper for printing. That’s why we went to Korea and luckily we managed the cost,” he said.
ECM has a five-year contract with USCCB and during the period they can produce as many copies as they want and according to Fr. Chimombo, this depends on how the faithful will respond to it, something which can make the agreement period extended.
He said that so far the conference has produced 10,000 copies which is in accordance with their budget. “We do hope that we can print some more copies,” he said adding “We want each and every Catholic in Malawi to have a copy and so we want to produce as many copies as we can before the end of our contract.”
The new bible has been authorized by the Bishops and that the Pastoral Department plans to run a special advert to popularize it for people to buy.
By Pamela Adinda, AMECEA Online News
