A campaign to turn 2003 into the year of the Bible was launched by the German Christian churches, with the hope that greater familiarity with holy scripture may help people to find a meaning to their life. This is not the first time Germany has dedicated a whole year to the rediscovery of the Bible: a similar celebration was promoted in 1992. This time, Karl Lehmann, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, hopes that “people will look to the Bible with curiosity, and that they may rediscover it in a very personal way”, since “the Bible is an offer to all those who are now interrogating themselves about the meaning of life”. Replying to the German Catholic press agency KNA, Cardinal Lehman also expressed the hope that the event would help the Churches to grow in “greater union” in the ecumenical context. “There are already many things we could do together”, emphasised Lehmann: “the common reading of the Word of God” occupies a “fundamental” place among them. Of the same view is Manfred Kock, president of the Evangelic Church in Germany: “There exist many communities he said in which joint biblical study helps to bring people together, even if there may be differences in interpretation. But just this is the most fascinating aspect: how to achieve dialogue and faith through the Bible”.
