HAVANA, Cuba (EP) — “There is something like an explosion in Cuba because everyone wants to have a Bible,” says Rev. Jose Lopez of the Bible Commission in Cuba. The Bible Commission, the official channel for all Scriptures sent to Cuba, distributes Bibles to universities where they are used as textbooks; to bookshops and libraries which are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture; and to churches, Roman Catholic and other denominations.

In the 1970s, official permission was granted for 2,000 to 3,000 Bibles per year to be brought to Cuba for distribution among the churches. In the 1980s, the Bible Commission requested that the supply be increased to 10–15,000 per year. Now, in the 1990s, Cuba has been receiving more than 100,000 Bibles per year. Last year, they received 156,000 Bibles and 200,000 New Testaments as well as 700,000 Gospels.

In 1991, the United Bible Societies was given permission to print Scriptures in Cuba and began printing Gospel portions, and Scripture leaflets. In 1993, the German Bible Society sent two printing presses which now print many Scriptures in Cuba.

In 1992 and 1994, the Bible Commission distributed the Bible at the International Book Fair where it was the best selling book, says Lopez. “It’s very interesting that people who do not belong to a church buy a Bible. This is because of the very low price made possible because Bibles come to Cuba as a donation from the United Bible Societies.”