To spark a renewed interest in the Bible among young Filipinos, the Catholic Church is making use of popular Japanese-style animation or anime to spread inspirational Bible verses that can be downloaded on mobile phones for only a few cents.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has launched a program called ''Bible Anime,'' a line of manga-inspired religious passages and Bible-based characters aimed at winning the hearts of youth in the predominately Roman Catholic country.

''It's our way of reaching out to young people, especially the children, who do not read the Bible. We want to encourage them to read the word of God,'' Oscar Alunday, a CBCP priest, said in an interview.

Instead of just Pokemon or Naruto, he said young Filipinos can now download the gospel or any of the Bible-based anime characters, which they can pass on to their friends.

Verses in the Bible like ''whoever is dishonest in small matters will be dishonest on large ones,'' ''knock, and the door will be opened to you'' and ''you cannot serve both God and money'' are among the story lines that are available for download.

''It's getting the gospel across in a fun way. We want Jesus to be their text-mate,'' he said, adding that mobile phones are indeed an easy way to get kids interested in the Bible.

''Now, Christians seeking a quick spiritual boost will be able to access Bible readings in their mobile phones as part of a drive to popularize the (Holy) Scriptures,'' he said.

He voiced hope that the multimedia messaging service project will appeal to a large number of young Filipinos.

''It is a concept of networking or being the partners of all the young people in the country using mobile phones,'' he said.

The project is an offshoot of a 2006 survey by the Philippine Bible Society that showed 60 percent of Filipinos do not read the Bible.

''It's very alarming indeed but at the same time I look at it as an opportunity to look for these young people who are hungry for the word of God,'' he said.

He added, ''Most of the teenagers own a cellphone but not a Bible. We have to make use of this very powerful gadget to raise their awareness of the Bible.''

The Philippine Church is actively promoting the program in schools. ''And so far the campaign is picking up,'' he said.

Alunday said the Bible passages can be downloaded for 5 pesos (12 cents), making it more affordable to many young Filipinos.

By sending the message ''BIBLIYA ON'' to a mobile phone network, he said, subscribers could easily download the Sunday Bible readings plus animations.

The ''Bible anime'' project involves coordination with the Philippine Bible Society and Enzima International Inc., a Manila-based Japanese-owned company that volunteered to do the animation.

The PBS, a nonprofit and inter-confessional organization, created last year an e-Bible, an electronic version of the Bible translated into seven Philippine languages or dialects.

''This is our way of making the Scriptures relevant amid widespread relativism, secularism and materialism -- a global reality that worries no less than Pope Benedict XVl,'' Alunday said.

He added the idea was hatched amid concerns that Catholic teachings ''will be left behind in a world that is moving so rapidly.''

''If we are truly to engage our present society in the word of God, we have to do it through all positive media that reach them, and one of these is, of course the computer,'' he said.

About 85 percent of the Philippines' 89 million people are Roman Catholic, making it Asia's largest Roman Catholic country.

==Kyodo

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