(ANS - Rome) - After twenty-two years of work, the first entirely Catholic translation of the Bible in the Thai language is ready to go to  print.  It is the result of the commitment of several people and especially of Fr Francis Cais, a Salesian missionary in Thailand since 1960. On a visit to Rome he spoke to ANS about his experience.

How did the Bible in the Thai language come about?

This initiative was started by lay people who felt the need of a Thai Catholic Bible. They also supported the work financially. In Thailand, in fact, there are just 300,000 Catholics out of a population of 66 million. Although the first settlements took place here 300 years ago, Catholic missionaries had translated only the Gospels. Even after the liturgical reform of the Council, they continued to use the Bible of the Protestant Churches with just a few changes.

We started in a very solemn manner, with a special Mass, on 6 January 1992. We thought we could do the job very quickly, distributing the material among many priests who knew English.   Two of us, Fr John Mary Vianney Thatsanai, a Salesian Past Pupil, and I, were involved at first only in coordinating the work but we came to realize that the job was not going well.

So, Fr Thatsanai and I sat down face to face and started translating verse by verse, from the original texts, trying always to find the best possible translation. As we finished each book we asked three university professors, two Buddhists and a Catholic, to review the work.  Their contribution was important because they brought different points of view, female and inter-religious, and they were able to make different suggestions. We worked very well together, always trying to attain unanimity on every doubtful word.  Finally we revised the first books that we had done twenty-two years ago, because the language has evolved in the meantime!

The result now is a translation that reads well. It is idiomatic and at the same time faithful to the original, The text is accompanied by introductions, notes, explanations, a glossary and maps. The bishops are very satisfied. They have already ordered 10,000 copies but we are printing twice that number.

What is the state of the Congregation in Thailand?
Originally the Salesians administered a large diocese of the south called Ratchabury and the congregation became really involved in the mission there. Then gradually the Salesian work spread also in the North where it took on the traditional characteristics of the Salesian charism, with education and schools, both academic and technical. Now we have seven large schools in the north and several parishes in the south, with two large communities and some other smaller ones.

The number of confreres has now stabilized. There are about ninety in all, with about fifteen missionaries, mostly Italian or Filipino, and all the others local.  There is now a  missionary drive towards Cambodia, where the mission began twenty years ago. There are three large schools there, and one more being built, and already there are local vocations.

Published 17/06/2014