HONG KONG (UCAN) -- Catholic publishers did "God's business" at the Hong Kong Book Fair by bringing the Church closer to the people, a bishop says.

Coadjutor Bishop Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong said as he officially opened the diocesan exhibition area, "We are not doing our business here. We are doing God's business."

The July 17-22 book fair, the largest event in the publishing sector in Hong Kong, was organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. It was held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Bishop Zen expressed hope that the public would come to know more about the Catholic religion through the display of Catholic books and materials.

Hong Kong diocese had an exhibition area of about 100 square meters with some 13 booths. Nine Catholic publishers as well as media producers and other organizations took part in the event.

To attract more viewers, the Catholic area had an open and futuristic design that was a departure from the "cathedral look" in the past.

The top was shaped like the Chinese character "ren" (people) to show that faith has a lot to do with people. Viewers were encouraged to join the sharing sessions conducted by priests, nuns and Catholic entertainers.

A transparent recording room was set up where Diocesan Audio-Visual Centre operators allowed viewers to record their own private messages in "cute, personal CD-ROMs."

Viewers could also sing karaoke hymns there. After singing a song in the karaoke corner, Bishop Zen described the display area design as "innovative."

Staff member Tsang Wing-han of the audiovisual center said, "We hope to make our counter attractive to youngsters. We have been using different audiovisual media to reach out to the public, such as through Cable TV programs and multimedia systems on public transport."

"Some people approached us after watching these media productions," she added, "so we think they are good ways to evangelize."

When asked about the future of the Catholic publishing business, Bishop Zen told UCA News, "Publications are powerful means to popularize our messages, so it is worthwhile to put more effort in it. It is necessary to have a diversity of styles to appeal to both youngsters and adults."

"However," he added, "we are facing a shortage of hands. It is not easy to find people who are both dedicated and professional to join the field." Sister Maria Paolo Chang of the St. Paul Media Centre told UCA News July 16 that it is important to present Catholicism in a lively way.

"We sometimes use DVDs, TV movies and cartoons to impart religious messages," said the Daughters of St. Paul nun. "To promote our books, we often take part in book fairs and produce audiovisual programs. In addition, we put much emphasis on evangelization activities in schools."

Her center recently produced a DVD cartoon titled "The Ten Commandments," which was shown during the book fair and attracted a number of children.

Some Catholic booth visitors told UCA News that they were attracted to the exhibit because of the discounts and keepsakes offered. Others said that books published by Protestants are generally more interesting.

"Although the competition in the market is keen, we have to be clear about our educational role," said a worker of the Catholic Truth Society, which has printed a series of biblical publications.

"We will keep making our books competitive by translating the latest biblical commentaries for the benefit of the faithful. We will also improve the quality of our publications by looking for up-to-date biblical viewpoints and practical spiritual guides," the Church worker added.

A Caritas Hong Kong social worker who helped at the fair said, "We want to let people know our wide range of social services and 'sow seeds' for God."

This year's book fair, the 13th, drew 370 publishers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, China and other countries.

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