By Santosh Digal

Manila: Since 2008, the Catholic bishops of the Philippines have launched several programs to encourage Bible reading and foster unity and love among Christians of all denominations.

One of them is the “May They Be One (MTBO) Bible Campaign,” a nationwide program which aims to put a Bible in every home and encourage Filipinos to read and live the Bible.

This, the prelates hope, would result in the transformation of the Philippines, Asia’s largest Catholic country, followed by East Timor, said Bishop Sofronio A. Bancud of Cabanatuan and chairman of Episcopal Commission on the Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

“The Philippines is known to be the only Christian country in Southeast Asia. Yet, more than 60 percent of Filipinos do not own a Bible. There is a need for God’s Word. It is a challenge to live up to our identity as a Christian nation. We respond to this challenge through a campaign that aims to put one Bible in every Filipino household,” Bishop Bancud said.

The MTBO Bible Campaign aims to make the Word of God accessible, understandable, respected and lived.

It is also a call for oneness in individuals, families, and communities resulting in unity among various sectors in working for national transformation, the prelate added.

The biblical apostolate also spearheads the campaign in partnership which the Philippine Bible Society (PBS) and other churches.

PBS was established in 1989. Since then, it has been widely distributing the Bible in many local dialects and formats that are easily understandable by Filipinos.

The MTBO Bible Campaign aims to raise the needed funds within the Philippines and overseas, to enable at least 5 million Bibles to the printed and sold at the subsidized prince of Philippine Pesos 50 (US$1) each. Full production cost of a Bible is Philippine Pesos 150 (US$3).

Christians around the country are encouraged to become part of this bible campaign and help put a Bible in every home in the Philippines, by praying for the success of this campaign, promote to one’s family and friends about MTBO Bible Campaign and give away resource materials and donate Philippine Pesos 450 (US$9) each year towards the cost of putting three Bibles into the homes of follow Filipinos.

Many have hailed the campaign as the right move to transform people’s lives.

“If we are all governed by the Word of God, then there will be unity and peace. Let us support the May They Be One Bible Campaign and help unite our country under the banner of God’s Word,” said Auxiliary Bishop Broderick S. Babillo of Manila.

“‘I pray that they may be all be one.’ This was the prayer of Jesus for his disciples and for those who will eventually put their trust in him. This is also our solemn prayer. In a nation polarized by ethnic, regional, political, economic, cultural, and religious diversities and distinctive, no need is more pressing than for all Filipinos to be united under the aegis of God’s Word.

There is no other alternative but to be in solidarity with one another. But that can be done only through the transforming power of the Bible,” said Bishop Arturo M. Bastes SVD, of Sorsogon, chairman, Episcopal Commission on Mission of CBCP.

“The heart must be transformed to the likeness of Jesus so that young people learn how to conduct themselves before Jesus and their fellowmen. I encourage everyone to read and study the bible and allow ourselves to be transformed by the Word of God,” said Henrietta T. de Villa, former Philippine Ambassador to Vatican and former vice-chairperson of MTBO Bible Campaign.

“This Campaign is a big help in advancing the call of Pope Benedict XVI to greater love for, and interaction with the Sacred Scriptures. I hope that the dioceses and the parishes, the Catholic school and other institutions will support this project,” said Jaro Archbishop Angelo Lagdameo, former president of CBCP.

All 86 dioceses of the country have embraced the project and ordered MTBO Bibles and provided Bible formation and study programs for those who received Bibles.

Some 1,897 parishes have become involved with distribution and formation activities in collaboration with Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, Council of the Laity of the Philippines, Catholic Bible Society, Blessed Sacrament Fathers and ECBA of CBCP, many other Catholic lay movements and pious organizations and men and women religious orders.

More than 2,071,236 Bibles in eight different languages have already been distributed since the start of the campaign in 2008.

In 2015, about 450,000 copies and in 2016, more than 500,000 copies of the Bible were distributed nationwide.

The number of prayer partners and supporters of the MTBO Bible Campaign in the country and abroad is steadily increasing.

Stories that show people’s hunger for the Word of God and how the Bible is changing their lives. A mother of seven from Romblon who has learned the discipline of having a humble heart, submitting to her husband, and being kind to her children in her daily reading of the Word of God. A medical doctor from Zambales province (north of Manila) who regularly shares God’s Word to inmates, believing that God’s face can be seen in them.

A young man from Atimonan, Quezon province (Southern Philippines) who contributes to share his passion for the Bible to younger children, and a young teacher from Gumaca, Quezon, whose worldview became God-centered because of her daily study of the Bible.

A missionary nun from Mexico equips young Filipino people to preach God’s Word in different communities in Manila and Batangas, south of Manila.

The campaign has also become a symbol of unity and cooperation among the Episcopal Commission for the Bible Apostolate of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, the ecumenical Philippine Bible Society (PBS), the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches, the National Council of Churches of the Philippines, the United Bible Societies, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (independent churches in the Philippines), the Asia Pacific Baptist, the Shekinah Christian Unity Foundation, and other Christian Churches and lay organizations involved in Bible ministry and apostolate.