KATHMANDU (UCAN) -- Young Catholics in the Kathmandu area all emerged winners from a recent Bible quiz, saying their participation would help them live a better Christian life.

"As Catholics, sharing our knowledge of the Bible will help us live a proper Christian life," said Bindu Shilpakar, 23, a youth leader at Assumption Church, the main parish in Kathmandu.

Shilpakar, one of the quiz organizers, and school and college students aged 14-19 spoke to UCA News after the Bible Quiz Assumption Church hosted on June 7.

Ten three-person teams -- three from Catholic schools, four comprising young people living at convents and a hostel, three from the three Kathmandu valley parishes -- competed in their knowledge of the Gospels of Saint Mark and Saint Luke. More than 200 other lay Catholics, priests and nuns attended.

"This Bible Quiz is not just an event. It was designed primarily as a spiritual exercise among us youngsters to gain more knowledge about the word of God," Shilpakar added.

"This event has certainly helped us young Catholics know the Bible and Jesus better," affirmed Umesh Ghale from the Don Bosco School run by Salesian priests and brothers. And this, he said, "will ultimately help us live our lives as true Christians."

The 10 teams were separated into two groups of five for the preliminary round. Only the top three teams in each group were to advance to the final round, but four teams tied for first in one of the groups and all advanced, so seven teams ended up as finalists.

Priyanka Duwadi, a member of the Assumption Parish youth group, said the person of Jesus cannot be separated from the word of God because in the New Testament, God speaks through his Son, not through the prophets as he did earlier. "When the word of God is separated from the person of Christ, the Church is without a foundation. Thus, this quiz was organized to help youths know Scripture and build their trust in the Lord on a better foundation," Duwadi added.

Anita Lama, a Don Bosco student, pointed out that knowing the Bible well makes Catholics in Nepal better able to dialogue with people of other religions "and those who are interested in knowing more about Christ."

Nepal has 28 million people, of whom 80 percent are Hindus. Most of the rest are Buddhists except Muslims, at about 4 percent, and the Christian community. According to the 2006 Nepal Catholic Directory, the country has about 1 million Christians, 7,500 of them Catholics.

Father George Kalapurackal, the Assumption parish priest, inaugurated the competition. He said participants need to realize the aim of the quiz is to cultivate a habit of reading the Bible and to know Scripture better.

Congregation of Jesus Sister Benigna, youth animator at Mary Ward School her congregation runs for poor girls, told UCA News, "Getting together in one place to share the word of God helps build an interest among the youths in studying the Bible more."

Her school's team came in a close second to the winning Don Bosco team. Third place went to the Baniyatar Parish team. The other school that fielded a team was Jesuit-run St. Xavier's, and the other parish team came from Godavari. The remaining four teams comprised girls living at the Cluny, Mary Ward and Sisters of Charity of Sts. Bartolomea Capitanio and Vincenza Gerosa convents, and a boys' hostel.

Flora Rai, a catechist who teaches young people at Assumption Church, told UCA News the event was a form of catechism for youngsters. "I hope it was very fruitful for the young people," she said. "Events like these could be the best way to bring about spiritual growth among the young minds."

Jesuit Bishop Anthony Sharma, apostolic vicar of Nepal, sent Pro-vicar Father Pius Perumana to represent him at the event. Father Perumana observed that such events have rarely been held in parishes in Nepal and suggested they be organized more frequently.
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