Manila (AsiaNews) - "Coming together to read the Bible and pass on His message to young people." This is one of the main aims of an initiative born six months ago involving about one hundred families of the Archdiocese of Manila.

Divided into small groups, families gather together every weekend in the parish offices to read and comment on the steps of the Sacred Book. Discussions are animated by priests and lay experts in theology and particularly involved participants, who on their return home feel the need to share the experience with their children.

Teresa Delacruz, a social worker and active participant in the Bible reading sessions says that her three daughters, all teenagers, love the daily reading of the Bible, which they have been taught right from the age of five years. One of them, Christine, fourteen years old, says that "every night while we recite the Rosary together, our parents encourage us to read the Bible every day, and this helps us to pray better and to reflect".

Given the initial success of the readings, the organizers hope to extend the meetings to all parishes of the Archdiocese of Manila and in time also to other parts of the country.

This initiative is closely monitoring the dissemination of the Bible, which was launched on the 30th September 2008 by the Philippine Bible Society (PBS) through the campaign "May They Be One". It aims to distribute free of charge 5 million copies of the Bible by 2013 of, in order to bring the Christian message to every Filipino family.