A Bible of New Power When the Rev. George Michaloczyk began preaching at St. Columba Church in Chester, he held up a copy of the "Christian Community Bible," which a friend had sent him from the Philippines. "At first I thought it was like giving another cookbook to a chef, since I have so many other Bibles. But when I began reading, it was as if I were discovering the Bible for the first time. I couldn't put it down. The commentaries are the most pertinent to our times that I've ever read." Quoting from the commentaries in his sermon, he added, "The 'Community Bible' is a remarkable, blessed achievement." Instead of reading a small, selected portion of the Bible each morning, I spent January devouring the "Christian Community Bible," as if I had just discovered scripture. After several years of hearing about the "Biblia Latinoaméricana" (Latin American Bible), it was an extraordinary experience to finally read the most significant theological work of the 20th century. That's a sweeping statement, but the facts hear it out. More than 40 million copies have been sold in the Spanish language alone! From South and Latin America, this Bible spread to Africa and Asia-before finally coming to America in this English translation. The Bible's effects on the lives of Christians are described by John Harper, a former priest in the Philippines, who is now executive director of the Middletown Emergency Housing Shelter. He said missionaries translated the New Testament of the "Biblia Latinoaméricana" into local Filipino languages. "As we received the translations, we would meet with the people to discuss what the Bible was saying and how it related to our lives. These groups took off like wildfire. So many started in our diocese that kawabak (lay leaders) were asked to meet with the people to read and study the Bible. It was a remarkable thing. The peasants learned that faith didn't need to come down from the priests, but up from themselves. They became empowered by the Word." How did this phenomenon happen? The Rev. Bernardo Hurault is a French priest who began his mission working in a slum section of Chile. He decided in the 1960s that a Bible was needed that would speak to the poor community in both text and commentary without relying on the ornate Latin of the church. Knowing Greek from childhood and having learned Hebrew and Spanish, Hurault set to work on an old portable typewriter to produce a new version of the Bible. His homilies were dialogues with the congregation. Questions the congregation raised about the meaning of the text formed the basis of the commentaries that make up one-third of the completed work. At one point, Hurault had to sell the typewriter to buy food, but he kept going, writing by hand through the years. Word of his endeavor spread. Help in the form of co-workers and financing was eventually provided by the Society of St. Paul in Spain. And so the "Biblia Latinoaméricana" was born-created not by a committee of officially-appointed scholars but by a humble priest and poor local Christian communities. Published in 1971, the Bible came to the notice of national Catholic hierarchies in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, who were quick to see its merits and gave it their official blessing. Several other South American countries followed suit. Latin American bishops' conferences called it "the greatest work produced by the Catholic church in this century." It has gone through more than 100 editions, selling 40 million copies. Military dictatorships in Argentina and Chile declared the Bible "subversive Marxist literature," and possession was punishable by imprisonment or death. Copies were wrapped in plastic and buried, being brought out when communities felt safe to meet, read the word of God and discuss its meaning for them. After his work in Chile, Hurault went to the Orient: to Thailand, then to Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, before going to the Philippines. Along the way, he saw the translation into those native languages. In the Philippines, he lived among the poorest of the poor, where he met the Rev. Alberto Rossa, a Claretian priest who was engaged in spreading the Gospel through local publishing. Rossa convinced Hurault that an English-language version was necessary. At the age of 60, and knowing little English, Hurault spent four months on an intensive English-language course-and set to work in May 1986, shortly after the downfall of President Marcos. Hurault was assisted in the translation by a team of leading scholars, theologians and poets. It took 18 months to complete the translation of the entire Bible. The first edition of 60,000 copies sold out in two-and-a half months. Hurault said, "This word of God, which came from the poor to nourish the poor in their faith, is also spread to the poor by the rich. The word of God is a two-edged sword." By Chris Farlekas