by Sumon Corraya

The Catholic community is marking the 75th anniversary of Pratibeshi, a weekly founded in 1940. Run by the Office for Social Communications of the Bishops Conference, the paper is a member of the World Catholic Association for Communication. Its 8,000 copies are available in Bangladesh and abroad. For Mgr Gervas Rozario, “We publish it to serve people through the doctrine of the Church.”

Dhaka (AsiaNews) – The Catholic Church in Bangladesh marked a milestone with the 75th anniversary of the country’s only Catholic weekly. Founded in 1940, Pratibeshi (neighbours) is the oldest weekly paper in Bengali (Bangla) and went online in 2013.

"Today I am a writer thanks to the weekly Pratibeshi,” Khakon Corraya, a Catholic writer, told AsiaNews. “Christian writers are grateful to it. I wish it many long years of service."

Some 700 faithful, 2 bishops and 40 priests took part in celebrations last Friday in the diocese of Mymensingh.

"I thank all the writers, who are the paper’s benefactors,” said the paper’s editor Fr Joyanto S. Gomes. “You wrote for the newspaper for free, and we are grateful."

The paper prints about 8,000 copies for each Sunday and is available in each of the country’s 98 parishes. It is also sent to government offices as well as to some 30 countries where Bangladeshi citizens live.

Its purpose is to spread the good news of Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Church.  It also seeks to stimulate, develop and awaken people’s spiritual, civil, social and economic conscience by presenting everyday experiences as well as encourage Church staff to use new forms of communication.

A member of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication, the weekly reprints statements by bishops and the translated speeches of Pope Francis. The faithful can pick it up after Sunday mass and each week many of them eagerly wait for the next issue.

Nirmala Gomes, a Catholic widow, is one of them. “I go to Mass every Sunday. Getting a copy of Pratibeshi has become a must for me. The weekly deeply touches my entire life. I especially like the articles on spirituality."

Pratibeshi is run by the Office for Social Communications of the Bishops’ Conference. For the latter’s director, Mgr Gervas Rozario, "The weekly is a love letter. People love it a lot. We publish it to serve people through the doctrine of the Church."

• bangladesh
• publication
• weekly
• pratibeshi
• anniversary