To spark renewed interest in the Bible among young Filipinos, the Catholic Church is making use of popular Japanese-style "anime" to spread inspirational Bible verses that can be downloaded on cell phones for a few cents.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has launched the Bible Anime program, a line of "manga" comic book-inspired religious passages and Bible-based characters aimed at winning over 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.
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.