Italian TV to broadcast Bible reading
Most of the recital, which begins Sunday, will be held at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, in Rome. (Contrasto-REA)
International Herald Tribune
By Elisabetta Povoledo
Published: September 28, 2008
ROME: It may have taken God a week to create the world, but it will take nearly as long to read the Bible from beginning to end in what is being described as the longest live television broadcast in Italian history.
On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI will read the opening verses of the Book of Genesis. The nonstop Bible recital will end 139 hours later when Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, tackles the final verses from the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation.
In between, about 1,250 readers from many walks of life and religious faiths will take turns until every word in the 73 books that make up the Roman Catholic Bible has been uttered (mostly in Italian but also with some ancient Greek and Hebrew). The first and the last hour of the Bible-a-thon will be broadcast live on the main channel of RAI, the state broadcaster; the rest will be shown on RAI's satellite education channel.
"Please don't call it a marathon - it's more of a nonstop relay," said Giuseppe De Carli, the chief of the RAI division that covers the Vatican and the organizer of the event, which will be held during six days at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome. "It's not a race, after all, but a reflection on God's way."
De Carli said his bosses at the public broadcaster were mostly enthusiastic when he approached them with the idea, presenting it as an alternative to the cheesy variety shows and gory dramas that have proliferated on television.
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posted by Dr. Denice Hanley, DPM, M.Div. @ 12:16 PM
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