READING, England — The UBS is providing 100,000 Bibles for free distribution among Roman Catholics, to mark the visit of Pope John Paul II to Cuba in January 1998. 

Cuban Christians at a church meeting

Of the total amount, 40,000 Bibles have been sponsored by the American Bible Society, but funding is still required for the remaining 60,000 Bibles. At $4.50 per copy, a further $270,000 is needed, and it is hoped that this amount will be raised by national Bible Societies willing to support the program.

Antonio Mendoza, the UBS Officer responsible for liaising with the work in Cuba, said that the Roman Catholics there represented a real challenge for Bible provision. “Most of the Bibles and Scriptures supplied by the UBS until now have gone to Evangelical and Protestant churches, with some supplies to libraries and bookshops. But the majority of Cubans are Catholics, and although they have received Gospels and Portions in the past, most of them still do not have their own copy of the Bible,” he said.

The UBS helped to print and supply almost 700,000 Portions in Cuba in 1997. More than 67,000 Bibles were imported into Cuba by the UBS and distributed by the CBC, although this figure was down on 161,687 Bibles supplied in 1996. Only New Testament supplies increased in 1997, to more than 128,000 (12,000 more than 1996). The projected figures for 1998 have fallen even further.

The Rev José López, Secretary of the CBC, writes: “Cuba is going through a difficult economic situation, having lost 85 per cent of its export trade with former socialist governments in eastern Europe. We have been affected by lack of fuel, spare parts, raw materials, fertilizers and insecticides, and this has restricted production. In addition, several natural disasters in 1995 in the Piñar del Rio region, followed by the ravages of hurricane Lily in 1996, have caused widespread loss and poverty, and undermined the national currency.

“What we can recoup by charging a small amount for Bibles only helps to provide transport and pay staff wages,” he said. “National production of Portions and Selections is increasing thanks to the help and guidance of the UBS, but a vehicle is badly needed to reach the poorer suburban church communities and to transport materials to and from our printing plant in Matanzas. We have no Bible House and we have insufficient storage space for Scripture shipments: which is why we are trying to construct a storage facility.”

Scripture requests for Cuba for 1998 cost almost US $578,000; the UBS has been able to offer only $100,000. The ABS has produced a video on Bible work and churches in Cuba.

Mr Mendoza said: “It is ironic that after so many years of communism and closed doors in Cuba, as far as Bible work was concerned, today’s opportunities are now being lost due to a lack of funds. The Bible was the best-selling book at the International Book Fair in Havana in 1992, 1994 and 1996, and will no doubt be so again in 1998. Demand for the Bible has risen, along with the remarkable growth in all Christian denominations. There is an unslakable thirst for God’s Word in this country; let us not neglect those who desire to read it.” (WR 328/17 - 2.98)