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English Braille Catholic Bible is Available For The First Time
For the first time, people who prefer reading Braille over any other alternatives, can read the Catholic Bible in Grade II English Braille. If I haven't dealt with this issue for years, I would have a hard time believing that it was not available before. But it is true. Many people did not have the luxury of reading the Bible of their choice in the format of their first preference.
Just a little background. People who can read regular print, can go to a book store, pick up their choice of sacred scripture and start reading it right away. People who cannot see have different options. They can listen to books on tape, on CD, podcasts, read electronic text on the computer with a screen reader, or read Braille, just to name a few options. Ideally, people should be able to make this choice and not be restricted. Despite the advancement of technology, there is nothing like reading a book, which folds like a book, smells like paper, and can be dragged to bed. There must be a need for it anyway, because book stores still sell these things in regular print, so there is nobody to say that blind people should not enjoy this "privilege". In many countries, even legislation demands to make materials available in alternative formats if requested, including Braille.
There is, however, a bit of a problem with reading a Braille Bible. It is huge, depending on the format, it can be as large as 50 volumes given the nature of Braille. But some people would still make a sacrifice of purchasing it, designating a separate shelf (or four or five) to store it. Up until recently, people who read English Braille did not have the option of buying the Catholic Bible. If you are not familiar with the differences, I won't go into a theological discussion, but the Catholic Bible contains 72 books, making it different from the Bible protestant denominations use. And why would people want a different version? Why not. Because if people who can read print have this option, why would those not have it who read Braille. It is just this simple. Of course, Bibles of other denominations are just as great, but can you imagine a child attending a religion class and not being able to prepare for the next class because the Bible did not contain the homework? Just to pick one example.
But before we start blaming anybody, let's establish the fact that Braille books are very expensive in general. You could ask, couldn't a company Braille the entire Bible just like they could Braille any other books? Yes, but one copy itself would probably cost thousands of Dollars. Even if there was a demand for larger quantities, it would cost a lot. At this expense, the demand is definitely lower than it is for regular print Bibles.
Another option was to borrow the Catholic Bible from the Xavier Society for the Blind. But let's face it, the Bible is not the kind of book you want to borrow, read it from cover to cover and return it, so it was only a partial solution.
Just recently I have noticed that Future Aids offers a Braille Roman Catholic Bible on their site. It is still not cheap, the price of the entire Bible is $709.95. However, knowing about the cost of Braille production, I wonder how could they produce it for this cheap. They also offer the option of purchasing the individual books of the Bible, or just to get either the Old Testament or the New Testament, which brings it down to a very reasonable price.
While you can directly go to the order page following the above link, in case you prefer to order over the phone, you can contact them at: 1-800-987-1231.
So, the first problem is solved. The entire Catholic Bible is available. But it is definitely at such a price that not all people could fork out, even though it is very reasonable for what it is. Now I'm looking for a solution to make the Bible available for all who wish to read it, without having to make a compromise on the format. Let's face it, for this price, you can buy a laptop with a Bible software, let alone, you can use the laptop for many other things. Still, people should be able to read actual books if they wish so.
I really would like to hear from you and learn about your opinion. Do you think it is overall a good idea to have the Catholic Bible available in Braille? Do you know of any people who would benefit from owning one? Do you have any ideas on how to make it available to all people while covering the generous prices of Future Aids?
Feel free to leave a comment below, or just e-mail me at: tom@evengrounds.com
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Just seeing this - new to
Just seeing this - new to your blog via the BADD blogfest. To answer your question: Yes it is a good idea! As for making it available, I think that it belongs in my parish library. Unlike a conventional library, parish libraries typically lend for however long the reader wants the book. Also, the parish library is overseen by someone who knows (or can know) the needs of individual parishioners. With a parish library, you can do things like call up the lady who is borrowing Thessalonians and say, "there's a kid in 5th grade who is going to be reading from Thessalonians in CCD this week, could you bring your copy with you to Mass Sunday, and we'll get it back to you the following the week?"
--> As a catechist, given a student who can choose between braille or audio format, I think braille suits the classroom environment better. Because then there isn't the competition between listening to the book versus listening to what is being said by me or other students. Also allows the student to read-aloud. (Which is a mainstay of classroom teaching.)
Bibles in Braille! Yay!
This is wonderful! As an avid Braille reader I am pleased that the Catholic bible is now available in Grade 2 or Grade 1 Braille. If only the price could be lower for the whole thing! Anyway, this is fantastic. Way to go Future Aids!
Too expensive for an ordinary reader with spiritual need
Well, it's a good idea for blind Catholics to have the option to read a complete Bible with all the 72 books instead of the heavily edited one with 66. The limit is only its cost. It is only unfortunate that, unlike say the Lutheran Church which dedicates its Braille production to producing the NIV version, the Catholic church still has no such department. Otherwise, considering the nature of sacred writings, there should be a way in which blind readers around the world can get the Bible for free. Consider that while you indicated that $700+ is cheap, yet to a third world person like myself, it is a fortune in itself. So this virtually places the Bible out of reach of those who need it most: those who can get that lot can afford to either borrow the Bible from the Xavier Society which does not lend to overseas; or, they can simply opt to embosse the bible for themselves. So, there should be a way out for other blind readers--whether Catholic or non-Catholic. Here we have no such option and still use the computer as a way to read the Bible.
Otherwise, thank you for the blog--I got it while I was googling for "Free Catholic Braille material". I am Catholic myself, but I admit we still have a long way to go in making our church literature accessible. It's not only the Bible in question, but even the Catechism itself.
Braille Bible is too expensive
GuesIshe,
I completely agree with you. Yes, it is very expensive. Not only for people in third world countries, but even in the U.S. Well, it is cheap, compared to general production costs. But expensive when you need to fork out the money.
But there is a major step here: something that did not exist before does exist now. And I think for this price, it mostly belongs to church libraries. It might be possible to raise funds to purchase one that the whole community can use, this way you, for example, would not have to try to get it from an organization which does not send materials overseas.
I hope it is a great start, and now that the Braille Catholic Bible exists, we will find organizations which will sponsor either the production or the purchase, similarly to the Lutheran Church. Their production is just as expensive, but they have allotted the resources.
Catholic Bible
A family member who is blind is getting his marriage blessed. He used to be a lector in his home parish. I thought it would be nice to get him a Catholic Bible in braille for his marriage in the Church. Maybe he could use it to lector in his new parish. I was taken back with the cost of a bible in braille. I know my sister would get the readings for him in braille when he lectored but, I didn't know how hard or expensive it was to get a Catholic Bible in braille.
Catholic Bible for student entering Catholic Middle School
I am searching for the Bible in Braille, and ran across this site and blog. Facing the issue currently, as my child enters 7th grade in Catholic school from public school, I would like to know if there is an option other than spending $700+ so that my daughter can participate in Religion class.
I hope that we've made progress. If anyone has direction for me, please advise.
All my best,
Dianne
Braille bibles
Mmmmm, interesting as I'm thinking myself of converting to catholocism from baptism or non-doniminational sexts of christianity. However, my x-step grandmother requested via her church to get me a King James Bible in braille and so she did. I sort of neglected it and I regret doing that because it costed the church lots of money. My heart didn't appear to be judged by the all so critical baptist faith in the deep south of America. So, perhaps there is some non-profits or somehting you could help us blind people out especially with having it at your local church? If you want e-mail me off list if you have additional thoughts about this matter. I've got a few general advocacy sites that are at times useful.
non-profits
Peter,
There would certainly be a need for organizations who can help providing Braille Bibles. The fact that it is available, is wonderful, but it is only the first step.
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