Catholic Biblical Federation Seeking to Extend Online Formation to Africa

“For several months now, we have been suffering the consequences of the attack by an invisible enemy that managed to paralyze the entire world. This forced confinement, which had initially locked us inside our homes, has also forced us to seek alternative forms of communication and contact,” the member of the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) said.

He added that the digital revolution in communications, which had been accelerated by the pandemic, had made it easier for the federation to carry out its evangelizing mission despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic.

“This situation has encouraged us to speed up the work on our website in order to bring together in one place and make available to our members and to all interested persons the various proposals for biblical formation offered online,” he said.

With a presence in 126 countries representing hundreds of biblical-oriented institutions, CBF, which was established in 1969, continues to work around biblical-pastoral ministry in areas of formation, coordination of member institutions as well as supporting publishing and translation of religious content across the globe.

A clear elaboration of the CBF’s role of biblical formation on its website reads, “while the Catholic Biblical Federation collaborates with the Bible Societies, its scope is wider: not just the book, but how to read the book – responsibly and fruitfully!”

Some of the Bible formation activities include biblical pastoral training and ongoing formation for full-time as well as voluntary collaborators, planning and running of Bible courses in Small Christian Communities at the grassroots as well as Religious instruction in schools, colleges, universities.

The Federation also runs a number of Biblical formation courses in select institutions up to Masters level.

In Latin America where 126 member institutions belong to the CBF, some of the Bible formation programs that have been moved online include academic programs, which were initially conducted through physical training but which, according to Fr. Jan, will now be available online.

The online presence has numerous advantages, the native of Poland told ACI Africa.

“With an online platform, the biblical interaction will not be limited by physical boundaries. Information will flow freely across borders so people in Africa, Asia or elsewhere in the world will easily access a training that has, for instance, been prepared in Latin America,” he explained.

According to the CBF General Secretary, some Biblical courses, which have initially been paid for in learning institutions, will now be offered free of charge on the website.

Other activities of the Biblical programs for Latin America on the newly launched website are Bible talks by experts as well as small workshops that will allow for members to subscribe and register for them.

The Federation has 58 member institutions in Africa with 29 Episcopal Conferences including the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) and 29 associate members distributed in 31 countries of the continent.

The institutions include Religious Orders, Bible groups as well as Catholic publishers such as the Paulines Publications Africa, which is managed by the Daughters of St. Paul.

In the interview with ACI Africa, the CBF official noted that history of the Federation is, in a special way, tied to Africa.

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“When we started in 1969, some Missionaries in African countries joined in by coordinating some activities of the Catholic Biblical Federation in Africa. In this way, Africa has always been very important to the Federation,” he said.

In Africa, the Catholic Biblical Centre for Africa and Madagascar (BICAM), a SECAM institution, coordinates CBF activities in member institutions across Africa.

Some of the BICAM activities include Biblical translations in French, Portuguese and English languages in Africa and Madagascar and also organizing workshops, seminars and courses for coordinators of Biblical Apostolate in liaison with SECAM member Conferences in the various regions of Africa.

Additionally, BICAM has a Biblical training academy that enrolls, educates and trains different interested Catholic personalities on the biblical values to aid in the gospel proclamation in Africa and in the world at large.

One of the programs that is gaining popularity in Africa is the LectioYouth.Net Project, a Catholic program for systematic reading and study of the Word of God, which was started on the continent and which Fr. Jan says, is spreading to other continents.

He sais that the program, intended for groups and individuals, particularly the youth in Africa and Madagascar, is also being used by young people in Europe for their Bible study activities.

With all CBF activities in Africa, the continent has a long way to go in terms of being active in global activities, the SVD Cleric said, adding that the online move is aimed at growing the Federation’s visibility in more African countries.

“Being a member of CBF isn’t just about registering but requires very active participation in terms of organizing for activities,” Fr. Jan told ACI Africa.

He added, “We have attended various activities in Africa including the recent Biblical Congress in Angola, which we happily sponsored, and many other activities we have attended in the countries like Tanzania, in Kenya and in other countries on the continent. We would like to participate in many other activities online.”

He further said that in all continents where the Federation is present, Latin America leads with an array of activities aimed at creating engagement around the Word of God. These activities, he said, involve Bible youth groups, Bible retreats and spiritual exercises centered on the Bible.

“We want to create a diversity of materials in as many languages as possible on the African continent,” he said.

“At the moment, we communicate in English and French and we are in the process of providing materials in Portuguese. In future, we will also provide for Kiswahili which is spoken widely in many African countries,” Fr. Jan told ACI Africa August 25.