BRISBANE, Australia, April 3, 2002 — A visit by UBS in late January to churches in East Timor has "initiated relationships that may grow into the formation of a Bible Society in East Timor" according to David Thorne, UBS Asia-Pacific Regional Secretary.
The Rev Keith Bricknell, Asia-Pacific Program Consultant, and the Rev Dr Daud Soesilo, Asia-Pacific Regional Translation Coordinator, who spent five days in meetings with church leaders of different denominations, have emphasised, however, that much needs to be done in order to help the churches understand the role of a national Bible Society.
"We learned a good deal about the situation within the country and attitudes towards Bible work by the churches," said Mr Bricknell. "In East Timor there is not yet a sufficiently strong recognition by the churches of the need for a Bible Society nor the role which it can play in assisting their work and ministry. There is no ill will towards us but we have to build up understanding before there will be a strong move towards the establishment of a Bible Society in the country."
Roman Catholic Bishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Rt Rev Carlos Ximenes Belo, leader of East Timor's 700,000 Roman Catholics - the majority of the country's Christians - has asked UBS to provide further information about the role of Bible Societies and their relationship to the Roman Catholic Church. "Further information will be forwarded but other follow-up may also be taken," said a report by Mr Bricknell and Dr Soesilo. "This could include contact between Bishop Belo and a Roman Catholic bishop already involved with the Bible Society movement."
Protestant and Pentecostal churches, which have about 30,000 members, indicated an interest in starting a Bible Society but emphasised that they would prefer this development to be led by the Roman Catholic Church.
All the churches responded positively to an offer by the Bible Society of Portugal (BSP) to provide a special edition of Luke's Gospel in the country's four interim official languages - Tetun, Indonesian, Portuguese and English - in time for Independence Day on May 29.
The country, which has been administered by the United Nations since Indonesia pulled its troops out in 1999, goes to the polls on April 14 to elect a president, and officially becomes self-governing in May. The churches, which also said they would appreciate a gift of Portuguese Bibles in appropriate translations from the BSP, discussed their ongoing Scripture needs with Dr Soesilo and Mr Bricknell.
"Preferred Bibles in demand by the Protestant Church are Indonesian and Portuguese," they noted in their report. "The Roman Catholic Church will not use the Almeida Portuguese translation."
They also found that although the Tetun New Testament has been available since 2001, published by the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Church has made little use of it. The two UBS representatives suggested to the Protestants that they obtain copies of the translation and assess its worth. The Gospel of Luke in Tetun, published by the Bible Society of Australia, has also been available since 1999. Both the Roman Catholic and Protestant Church spoke of the need to have the Old Testament and Deuterocanon translated into Tetun.
"It would be ideal if UBS Translation Services could be involved in developing such a project, particularly if this could be done on an interconfessional basis," the report recommended. "Offers of help have been made to both Bishop Belo and the Protestant churches."
Dr Soesilo and Mr Bricknell also met with the Strømme Foundation - a Norwegian-based aid organisation founded on Christian values, which recently began work in East Timor with the encouragement of Bishop Ximenes Belo. The Foundation raises funds among churches in Norway for its own work and for the Norwegian Bible Society, and undertakes Bible work in each country in which it operates, in association with the national Bible Society. In Liquisa, a town about 45 minutes' drive from Dili, about 4,000 families are benefiting from a self-help project run by Strømme.
"Strømme reports that in the villages where they are working there is a lack of New Testaments and Bibles and a need for literacy work," said Mr Bricknell and Dr Soesilo. "They are anxious to use New Reader Scriptures to help develop this work in schools and villages. This could be a pilot program for the rest of the country.
"We have agreed with Strømme that steps should be taken to develop a New Reader project, with the hope that a Bible Society will formed. Alternatively, if a Bible Society formation committee does not come into being, Strømme will speak to Bishop Belo — and suggest that a translation committee representing all churches be formed to undertake this project."
Sources: United Bible Societies, Bible Network News
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