DHAKA (UCAN) — The Bangladeshi Church wants Catholics to focus on reading the Bible and becoming life witnesses to people of other faiths during the Pauline Year.

Pope Benedict XVI declared June 29, 2008, to June 29, 2009, a Pauline Year to mark the 2,000th birth anniversary of Saint Paul the Apostle.

It held the official opening celebration on Aug. 1, as the bishops were busy after returning from their June ad limina visits to the Vatican. Archbishop Paulinus Costa of Dhaka led the inaugural Mass for Dhaka archdiocese at Tejgaon Church. About 1,000 Catholics attended.

Father Kamal Corraya, coordinator of the Dhaka Pastoral Assembly, which is implementing Pauline Year programs in the archdiocese, admitted to UCA News “there are certain limits to what we can do in this Muslim-majority country,” according to Diocesan.

Father Corraya, who also directs the bishops’ national communications center in Dhaka, acknowledged proclamation of Christianity in the country is difficult because of possible threats from Islamic extremists.

“We have hidden pressure not to proclaim Christianity openly because in the past we saw that several Protestant preachers were killed in Faridpur, Mymensingh and Jamalpur,” he said on Aug. 3. “Therefore, in the light of Pauline Year, we want our Catholics to become life witnesses to people of other religions.”

According to Father Corraya, the Church is asking them to read the Bible more and lead their life accordingly. It wants to encourage Catholics to follow Saint Paul’s example of perseverance amid adversity in overcoming the challenges they may face in proclaiming Christianity, he said.

The bishops of the country are taking special initiatives at the diocesan level, with the core emphasis on proclaiming the Good News through life witness, in effect leading a good Christian life, Father Corraya reported.

“Given the present reality, we need life witness on Christianity,” the priest said. “And our bishops are emphasizing that our Catholics who run educational institutions and other organizations strictly maintain Christian values and idealism.”

The year-long celebration will include seminars and special homilies on the life of Saint Paul and creation of more Basic Ecclesial Communities.

It formally began at 4 p.m. on Aug. 1, when Archbishop Costa, as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, and Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh Archbishop Joseph Marino uncovered a large picture of Saint Paul on the Tejgaon church’s front wall.

The two archbishops, along with Holy Cross Bishop Theotonius Gomes, auxiliary of Dhaka archdiocese, retired Holy Cross Bishop Michael D’ Rozario of Khulna, and retired Jesuit Bishop Linus Nirmol Gomes of Baruipur, India and more than 50 priests and 50 nuns then joined laypeople in watching a half-hour video documentary on the life of Saint Paul in the bishops’ communications center.

In his homily during the concluding grand Mass, Archbishop Costa called upon people to proclaim the Good News to others following the example of Saint Paul.

Noyontara Rozario, 70, who participated in the event, told UCA News such events focusing on important personalities in faith history are important.

“We need to organize such events more for the young generation so they can strengthen their Christian faith,” he said. “Through Saint Paul, they will be able to reflect on practicing a real Christian life.”