National Conference, Parallel English-Chinese Translation of Old Testament, Signs of Evangelization Efforts among Chinese Americans

WASHINGTON—The upcoming 25thanniversary of the U.S. Catholic China Bureau Conference and the recentpublication of the first parallel translation of the Old Testament in Englishand Chinese are signs of the strengthening evangelization efforts in theChinese American community, said the chairman of the Subcommittee on Asian andPacific Island Affairs of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

"These efforts show the continuedgrowth and strengthening of the faith among Chinese

Americans. It helpsthe Church around the world to understand the history and struggles of theCatholic Church in China," said Bishop Randolph Calvo of Reno, chairman of theSubcommittee."In the Year of Faith,our hope is to see a greater number of Chinese Catholics growing in theirfaith, teaching their children about Jesus and spreading the word of God."

Theparallel translation is significant because now Chinese American Catholics havea full bible in both languages. The 25th anniversary of the U.S. Catholic ChinaBureau Conference is considered a milestone instrengthening evangelization efforts in that community.

Chinese Americans represent the largest Asiangroup in the United States according to the U.S. Census; however, Chinese Catholicsare a minority with an estimated 340,860 living in the United States.

Catholics in theUnited States interested in learning more about the Catholic Church in Chinaand the challenges it faces will have that opportunity at the Annual NationalChina Conference, which will take place at Loyola University in Chicago, October4-6. This year's theme is "The American Catholic Church and China in an Era of Globalization."

The parallel translation of the OldTestament version of the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), which isthe latest volume, complements the bilingual New Testament Bible first publishedin 2009. The Old Testament volume is published by Bible Vision, a non-profitgroup of Chinese Catholic volunteers who promote the study of theScriptures.

Thefirst bible in Chinese was published in 1968, after a 40-year effort of BlessedFather Gabriele M. Allegra.

TheSubcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs is under the direction of USCCBCommittee on Cultural Diversity. The Subcommittee works collaboratively withother USCCB committees to affirm the gifts and contributions of Asian andPacific Island Catholics and to provide them more opportunities to engage inthe life of the Church and help shape its mission of evangelization.

Moreinformation about the Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs can befound at www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/cultural-diversity/asian-pacific-islander/index.cfm

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Keywords:Chinese Catholics, Old Testament,Chinese, parallel translation, Bishop Randolph Calvo, USCCBSecretariat of CulturalDiversity in the Church, Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Island Affairs,China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, U.S. Catholic China Bureau Conference, New AmericanBible, Bible Vision

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