Church in Europe
While both in Germany and in Austria an ecclesial debate about the quality of the new revised standard translation of the Catholic Bible into German is underway, the new edition is now available as a free app for both iOS and Android smartphones. The over-one-million-word text is based on the various books of the Old and New Testament and is also accessible via the full-text search. The app is made available by Katolisches Biblewerk based in Stuttgart, and offers different levels of reading to approach the Book of Books, day after day. It also shows the Bible references to the daily readings for Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. The offer also includes a convenient search feature which also operates via voice control, a plan for comparative ecumenical reading, and a feature to save, manage and share the biblical quotes you like along with your comments and prayers. The app comes after the successful publishing of the new standard translation of the Catholic Bible into German, which was presented at the end of 2016, after more than 10 years of work by many theologians, biblical scholars and linguists who have taken into account the latest scientific discoveries while also paying special attention to the original text and to contemporary language. Approximately 250,000 copies of the new translation of the Bible, which is also available as an eBook, have been sold since the summer of 2017.
