Group of Catholics give away audio-Bibles to the illiterate

January 18, 2012. (Romereports.com) More than fifty percent of world's population can not read or write, leaving them with many disadvantages. It has proved especially difficult for the Catholic Church in their work of Evangelization. However, the group Faith Comes by Hearing is working to offer every person the chance to listen to the Bible recorded in their own language.


The group's founder Jerry Jackson presented the pope with an iPod with an audio bible. They currently offer audio versions of the Bible in over 600 languages.

Jerry Jackson
President, Faith Comes by Hearing
“And then we record this, we assemble it in the language of the people, word for word, pure scripture, no comments, nothing in addition but just pure Scripture.”

Their App Biblium.is can be downloaded through mobile devices for free listening of the bible. In one year the app has been downloaded over 7 million times. And to the group's surprise, after English, the most downloaded language was Arabic.

For more remote areas of the world that don't have access to the internet, Faith Comes by Hearing has developed what they call 'The Proclaimer'. A playback device, that can be powered by a solar panel or a hand-powered crank and can operate in temperatures of up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

Lori Koch
Manager, Faith Comes by Hearing
“It basically is the Bible in audio for the non-literate people of the world. And it's self-contained, the content can't be changed, just like the content of the Bible that you hold in your hand and read can not be changed.”

Father Peter Stravinskas of New Jersey became a fan of their work and got involved when one important version was missing, Latin: The language of the Church.

Fr. Peter Stravinskas
Faith Comes by Hearing
“Vatican II makes it very clear that every Catholic is supposed to be conversant with the sacred liturgy and the Scriptures in the universal language of the Church.”

Faith Comes by Hearing has delivered over 300,000 Proclaimers since 2004. They continue to reach out to new communities and new languages, hoping to expand into 100 new languages in 2012.

Fr. Robert Barron and Dr. Scott Hahn on Biblical Interpretation and The Liturgy

50 Questions about the life of Jesus: 2 million people find answers

January 7, 2012. (Romereports.com) Tough questions like, was Jesus married? who were the Apostles? and what is the Holy Grail? are being answered online by a group of historians and theologians.


It's a forum where history and theology professors from the University of Navarra, in Spain, can respond to some of the more controversial questions regarding the life of Jesus.

The idea came about when the university  posted several documents that answered difficult  questions about the life of Jesus.  Questions like, did Jesus have brothers or sisters? was he really born in Bethlehem?

With the success of the website,  the program then developed into a video format that's now on Youtube. The name of the youtube channel translates to “50 Questions.”

The goal is to learn more about the life Jesus lived here on Earth. With information from documents and theologians, now some of those questions are being answered for millions to see.

"Arguments" is launching a virtual catechesis for kids

January 3, 2012. (Romereports.com) “Arguments” has released a special catechesis for children on the internet that's made completely with cartoons. Weeks before the World Youth Day in Madrid, this association became famous for their series of videos “Young Answers”. It shows young people expressing their views on controversial issues like abortion, celibacy and euthanasia.

Each chapter of the ten topics in this virtual catechism has games with multiple choice questions. If children answer the question correctly, the cartoon moves on to explain the life of Jesus and the Sacraments.

For now it's only available in Spanish, but you can find it by clicking on the word “Proyectos” on the website arguments.es and then following the tab “Jesús es el Señor”.