KATHMANDU (UCAN) -- The Church in Nepal launched the Year of Saint Paul with the introduction of various spiritual programs.

The Church in Nepal launched the Year of Saint Paul.

During the 9 a.m. Mass on June 28 at Assumption Church, the main church in the capital, Bishop Anthony Sharma informed the congregation of plans and programs to be conducted in parishes and mission stations for the year. In Nepal, the main weekly Mass is celebrated on Saturday, the weekly holiday.

The apostolic vicar of Nepal described one program as a 30-day "prayer package" starting that day. Catholics were asked to use special prayers and daily Bible-reading materials the vicariate is providing.

Bishop Sharma, who has headed the local Church since it was a sui iuris (self-governing) mission in this Hindu-majority country, also read out a letter from Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of the Pauline year. The Holy Father has designated the period from June 28, 2008, to June 29, 2009, as a special year marking the 2,000th birth anniversary of Saint Paul the Apostle.

The Jesuit bishop said in his homily, "We Catholics must not only be witnesses (of Christ), but should be ever ready to sacrifice our blood for Christ as Saint Paul did."

He urged the 600-strong congregation to "listen to the voice (of God) that is ever calling us." He added, "We will not hear it when there is a fire or an earthquake or any other disaster, but we can listen to it when there is peace in our inner hearts."

The bishop announced the closing celebration for the Pauline year will be held on June 29 next year at Immaculate Conception Parish in Damak, eastern Nepal.

According to Father George Kalapurackal, the Assumption parish priest, the vicariate has planned "retreats and seminars for priests, Religious and laypeople alike in the various parishes and mission stations" for the year.

The Jesuit priest told UCA News "50 new catechists" will be trained "across Nepal." He also said movies relevant to the special year would be shown in parishes, and quizzes as well as essay and poetry competitions based on the life and teachings of Saint Paul would be conducted.

A letter sent earlier by the vicariate's office to parishes and mission stations said it would "make available to each parish a program of meditation or reflection on the Pauline year and video cassettes on Saint Paul." The letter also urged priests in parishes to focus at least one homily every month of the Pauline Year on the saint, and his life and teachings.

Several lay Catholics shared their views on the Pauline year with UCA News.

Shanta Dewan, a 28-year-old Catholic woman, said she has yet to see Catholics share the word of God with people of other faiths in the country.

"The time has come to actively spread Christ's message to the whole of Nepal, and our leaders should take the very first step in this regard," she remarked.

The Church in Nepal launched the Year of Saint Paul.

Santosh Magar, 23, agreed but also said "young people like us should step forward" to bring about "the Kingdom of God." The young Catholic man is the only person in his four-member family who is not a Hindu. He said, "We need to find ways to introduce Christ to people of other faiths in a country like Nepal."

Another Catholic, Pascal Khadka, noted that "whenever one converts to Christianity in Nepal, he or she will be condemned for being a beef-eater; this is the bitter truth of the small Christian community in Nepal." Hindus, who form more than 80 per cent of Nepal's 28 million people, consider the cow sacred and will not eat it.

Khadka feels "this Pauline year will help Catholics gain more spiritually and then we can take God's message to all people."

Christians in Nepal have had freedom to practice their faith only since 1991, when a new constitution established religious freedom and changed the absolute monarchy to a constitutional one. Before that, conversion from one religion to another was illegal in the kingdom, with conversion or attempts to convert others considered criminal offenses and punishable by imprisonment.

According to the 2006 Nepal Catholic Directory, the country has 1 million Christians, 7,500 of whom are Catholics.

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